The Changing of the Guard: A Way Out
by memarkw
Summary: Is death truly the only way out for a Slayer? A former slayer comes to town, looking for her missing daughter.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 1/7   
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based an idea by Aristide.  
  
E-mail: memarkw@yahoo.com  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that these  
characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to Lord Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns, Bev, and MeB for catching  
the little oopses...  
_______________________________________________  
  
  
1989, Somewhere in America   
  
"Come with us!"  
  
"No, it must be this way! Now go, child!" He pushed  
her into the van and slammed the door behind her, at the  
same time ducking, spinning and piercing the nonbeating  
heart of the vampire that was right behind him.  
  
Merrik watched the van as it sped away, then turned  
back to the last two vampires. With moves rivaling any  
slayer, past or present, he quickly finished  
them. "Take care, my girl, take care," he whispered.  
He picked up the slayer's bag and started walking in the  
direction of home.  
  
From the darkness, a glowing pair of emerald green  
eyes followed his every step.  
  
------------------------------------------------  
  
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER  
  
They sat on the porch swing, not really swinging,  
just sort of swaying to and fro. The pair had been  
through so much together. Buffy had almost lost her  
friend. She didn't stop and think about the fact that her  
friend had already lost her twice. But then again, if not  
for her friends, the Slayer wouldn't be here now.  
  
Buffy sighed and looked out across the street.   
Things were slow. Not that she was complaining. She  
liked having this time to catch up with Willow. The red  
haired girl had just come back from England. She had  
spent several months there, working with Giles.   
  
After her journey into what they were now calling  
"the dark side," she had returned to England with the  
former watcher to learn how to control the magic that was  
still within. She'd possessed so much darkness and such  
great power. Giles was in contact with a coven which was  
able to bind the darkness within her, to permanently  
ensure that it could never again control her. Not even if  
it was something she desired. The great power was another  
story. She still possessed it, but it was totally under  
control. The months with Giles tought her the things she  
needed to know to possess the power safely. What Giles had  
taught her was how to deal with the power without being  
tempted to abuse it or go back to the evil side of it.   
  
The lessons worked. For the first time since  
discovering her ability, she was fully in total control.   
Tara would have been proud.  
  
  
"Yeah...she would have."  
  
Buffy turned to Willow. "Would have what?"  
  
"Oh, sorry. I wasn't reading you. It just kind of  
came to me. Not exactly what you were thinking, more of  
an idea of it. You thought that I would have pleased Tara  
with what I have done since...well, you know."  
  
"Kind of. I thought she would be proud of you."  
  
"It's good to be home."  
  
Buffy put her arm around her best friend. "It's good  
to have you back. Are you sure you're going to be ok with  
your old room?" She paused, giving Willow a moment to  
reconsider. "I really don't mind switching with you."  
  
"No, I'm ok. I know, that's where she died. The  
other memories outweigh that, though. I still feel her in  
there, you know?"  
  
"Yeah. When it's really warm, I can walk into the  
kitchen and feel my mom in there, taking cookies out of  
the oven, telling me all about the show she just watched  
on TV."  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Why is that van just sitting there?" She pointed to  
the vehicle across the street, the one that Buffy had been  
watching."  
  
"Good question. I was just thinking things were slow  
around here."  
  
"Surely Jonathan and Andrew aren't back in town, up  
to their old tricks. If they are, I'll..." She took a  
deep breath and passed her hand in front of her face to  
calm herself down. "If they are, I'll offer them lemonade  
- after I spit in it." The thought of it made her smile.  
  
The slayer chuckled. "No, it's not them. The last  
time I heard from Jonathan, they were in San Francisco.   
Something about Andrew not denying what he was. You know,  
I kind of miss Jonathan. He wasn't such a bad guy."  
  
The young witch looked at Buffy as though she had  
lost her mind. Buffy realized what she had just said. "I  
mean, except for the almost killing us all...causing the  
end of the world...trying to drive me nuts...framing me  
for murder - oh hell, you know what I mean."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
Buffy stood up and stretched. "Well, time to see  
what's up with whoever that is."  
  
"Want me to come with?"  
  
"Nah, I'll be right back."  
  
"Be careful."  
  
"Me? Willow, I'm shocked!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, and you wonder where Dawn gets it from.   
I'll go start lunch."  
  
As Buffy crossed the street, she started psyching  
herself up for battle. She was just a little disappointed  
when a woman opened the door of the old Chevy and jumped  
out. The first thing Buffy noticed about the woman was  
the way she carried herself- something about it reminded  
her of Faith, almost like she was "five by five," on some  
kind of quest. Not just her style or her clothes, but her  
whole demeanor. The similarty ended there, though. She  
appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties,   
There was something about the look in her eyes. It  
reminded Buffy of her mother- the look Joyce gave when she  
was worried, but didn't want to let it show. The woman  
tried to smile at Buffy, but didn't do a very good job  
of it.   
  
"Hi. I was just trying to figure out how to  
introduce myself before your curiousity got to you. Guess  
I was too late."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you were. Who are you?"  
  
"That's a long story. I got this letter in the mail  
the other day. It belongs to you."  
  
Buffy took the letter. It was dated almost nine  
years earlier. She looked at the woman again. "Who are  
you?"  
  
"My name is Laura Warren. I need your help. The  
letter explains it."  
  
"I'm sure it does, but why don't you just tell me  
what you need me for?"  
  
"My daughter is missing. Only the Slayer can help me  
find her."  
  
Buffy was stunned. This Laura person knew who she  
was, knew about the slayer. For something that was  
supposed to be such a big secret, there sure were a lot of  
people who knew her so-called secret identity. "How-"  
  
Laura interrupted. "My daughter is a slayer, or will  
be, just like you. Just like I once was."  
  
"What? Look, whoever you are, there's NO way you  
were EVER a slayer. If you were you'd be-"  
  
"Dead?"   
  
"Well, yeah..."  
  
"I was, and I'm not."  
  
Buffy stepped up to the woman. "The only way for a  
slayer to stop slaying is to die."  
  
"No, it's not. There's another way. That's why I  
need your help."  
  
Buffy couldn't believe what she had just heard.   
Another way out of slaying and Giles had never told her?   
It wasn't possible.  
  
"Buffy, please, Merrik told me that I could count on  
you."  
  
"How do- did you know Merrik?"  
  
"He was my watcher. He helped me get out of the  
hands  
of the Council."  
  
Some gut feeling told Buffy to believe this woman.   
She had a feeling that something big was about to be  
unearthed. "Will!" she called out, "Set another place.   
We have company." 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 2/7   
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based on an idea by  
Aristide.  
  
E-mail: memarkw@yahoo.com  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that these  
characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to Lord Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns, Bev, and MeB for catching  
the little oopses...  
_________________________________________   
  
Buffy and Willow sat,neither of them saying a word,  
watching Laura finish her soup. Willow was silent because  
something was obviously wrong with Buffy.   
  
Buffy was silent because she couldn't believe that  
there was a way out of slaying and that Giles had never  
mentioned it. When this was over, she seriously planned  
to hop a flight to England to confront him. No, this  
might just be some kind of prank. She'd just have to wait  
and see. The stranger that was eating across from her  
might have some reason for doing this. It'd better be  
good.  
  
Finally, the presumed former slayer finished her  
meal.   
  
"I'm sorry. Since John disappeared, I haven't eaten  
much. When Marika went missing, I kind of forgot about  
eating altogether."  
  
Willow stood up and took the soup bowl. She walked  
to the sink. "John? Marika?" she asked.  
  
"John is my husband, Marika is our daughter."  
  
Buffy hesitated, thinking it had to be an odd   
coincidence, but she asked the question anyway. "Merrika?  
As in Merrik with an A?"  
  
Laura nodded. "Actually, it's M-a-r-i-k-a, but yes,  
as in."  
  
Willow sat back down, having dried and put away the   
bowl. She looked at Buffy. "Wasn't Merrik yo-"  
  
Buffy interrupted with the answer. "My first  
watcher,   
yes."  
  
Willow sat back, confused. "Oh."  
  
Buffy leaned forward, resting her elbows on the  
table. "I really don't mean to sound rude, but start  
talking. Tell me how you knew Merrik, how you got a  
letter written to me nine years ago, and why you are just  
now delivering it."  
  
Laura did the opposite of Buffy, leaning back and   
crossing her arms. "Ok, but I'm warning you, this is a  
VERY long story."  
  
Buffy looked at Willow, who nodded her head slightly.  
"Go ahead, we're not going anywhere."  
  
"Sixteen years ago, on my fifteenth birthday  
actually, a man stopped me when I was on my way home from  
school...  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Laura looked up at the stranger. He looked vaguely  
familiar, but she couldn't place him. He was walking  
directly towards her. Just as he reached her, she  
remembered where she had seen him. He had been standing  
outside the shoe store last week, looking in the window  
while she shopped.   
  
"Excuse me. I know you don't know me and I beg your  
forgiveness, but I have something to tell you that won't  
wait. I've never been good at this. I really don't know  
how to say this, except to just tell you. Into each  
generation, a slayer is born. One girl with the..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
For a moment, two voices spoke the same words - Buffy  
and Laura, recalling the owrds once spoken to them by a  
long dead watcher. "strength and skill to hunt the  
vampires,"  
  
Laura stopped as Buffy finished. "to stop the spread  
of evil, blah blah. I've heard it. More than once. And  
the last time I heard it, I was MADE to understand that I  
cannot escape my destiny. That's why I find it a little  
hard to swallow, what you told me out there."  
  
"I know," Laura said, "I was made to understand the   
same thing. Please let me finish before you interrupt me   
again. This is hard enough for me to talk about. I need   
your help, but if you don't want me here, I'll leave."   
She stood up and turned to leave.  
  
Buffy stood, reached across the table, and grabbed  
the woman by the sleeve. "I - I'm sorry. Please. I'll   
listen without anymore interruptions."  
  
Willow let out a small laugh. She looked up as she   
realized that the other two females were staring at her.   
"Oh, sorry. I just meant...well, I meant...Ha! Buffy  
can't listen without interrupting. It's just not you,  
Buffy."  
  
The slayer glared at her friend. "I will this time,"  
she said, with emphasis on THIS. "Let's go in  
the living room."  
  
Willow and Laura followed Buffy, the former two  
sitting on the couch, the latter pulling up a chair  
across from them. Laura continued.  
  
Laura continued. "Anyway, this guy turned out to be  
our mutual friend, Merrik."  
  
Buffy interrupted, with a guilty look at Willow.   
"I'm sorry. I know I said I wouldn't, but I just need to  
say that he and I weren't actually friends. I don't know  
what you would call it. I cared for him when he...when  
they got him, but we never actually got to know each  
other. Sorry, I just had to get that out there. I never  
really got to know him. We weren't together very long."  
  
Willow wanted to say "I told you so," but it didn't   
seem appropriate when someone was talking about the dead.  
  
Laura waited until it was clear that they were  
waiting for her. "Ok. I got it. Let me tell you  
something. If he had lived, you would have loved him. He  
would've become like a father to you. He would've never  
let you down if he could help it. He would've put his  
life on the line for you. He did it for me more than  
once. That's what this is about, kind of."  
  
Buffy thought about what Laura was saying and thought  
of Giles. She missed him so much. She understood what  
Laura was saying. If Merrik had lived, she wouldn't have  
found Giles. Would the relationship with Merrik have been  
like the one with Giles?  
  
"Anyway, I thought he was nuts. But a couple of  
nights later, I was attacked. I stayed late at the pizza  
place where I hung out. I was about half way home. Two  
creatures grabbed me from behind. One of them said  
something about being glad that I had denied my destiny.   
I saw the faces, I saw the teeth, I felt one of them pull  
my head back, and I felt the teeth on my neck. I still  
didn't realize what was happening.  
  
"I never believed in monsters. Not even as a kid.   
And Dracula never came after his victims the way these   
things were attacking me. I was about to use my head, to   
head-butt one of them backwards. But when my head reached  
what should have been face, there was nothing there. I  
felt something hit me in the back though. I turned around  
to find a stake on the ground at my feet, and ash blowing  
in the wind. The second creature was running away.   
  
"I looked up and saw that man, Merrik, pull out  
another stake and throw it at the thing that was running.  
I watched the thing disintegrate right in front of me.   
Needless to say, I freaked out. I think what I actually  
said was 'gag me with a spoon.' It was kind of gross.   
  
"Anyway, Mer said 'That's what you were born to  
protect people from.' He told me to come with him so he  
could explain some more. I hesitated, but he had just  
saved my life. When I hesitated a moment longer, he told  
me to close my eyes and feel it. So I did. And as he  
described it, I could feel the power corsing through my  
body, the strength.   
  
"I still don't know how, but I sensed something and   
threw my hands upward and outwards, like this -" The  
former slayer demonstrated as she spoke, "and opened my  
eyes. I couldn't believe it. This guy had just threw  
one of those wooden sticks at me. I mean, really threw  
it, like to kill me. And I stopped it. I felt it coming  
at me and I protected myself.  
  
"As much as I wanted to run, I knew that he was  
telling me the truth, and so I went with him. You can  
pretty much fill in the next part. About how I trained  
with him, fought him, denied what I was, resented it,  
tried to live a normal life, and always came back to him  
and slaying.  
  
"This is where our stories go their own ways.   
Obviously, you're good at what you do. You're what? 19?   
20? And you're still alive. Or should I say alive  
again?"  
  
It was apparent that Buffy was trying so hard not to   
say anything. Laura grinned and told her to go ahead.  
  
"I was born in 1981. I'm twenty-three. And you know  
about, um, being alive again?"  
  
"You don't look that old. And yes, I do know. But I  
will get to that later. I really did grow to love Mer  
like my own dad. See, I was living in foster homes. The  
guy that was the sperm donor for my mom, walked out before  
I was born. My mom tried to do good by me, but when I was  
four, she turned to tricks. One of them hurt her. She  
died in the hospital. I grew up going from whichever home  
to whichever home the state saw fit to put me in.   
  
"I think that's why I didn't trust Mer at first, he   
reminded me of some beuracrat. But a litle over a year  
later, I trusted him with my life. With my unborn baby's  
life."  
  
She was looking down at the coffee table as she said  
the last part. She looked up at her hosts. "I had been  
seeing this guy for almost as long as I had been slaying.   
John. Mer tried to keep me from it, going on about how  
important it was to keep my secret, but I was sixteen by  
then. I was a young woman and I was in love. You know  
how it is, don't you? Did you have a boyfriend that your  
watcher tried to talk you out of? Of course you did, all  
slayers do. We are women, after all. But he was the only  
thing fixed in my life. I mean the only thing that was a  
constant fixture. Besides Merrik.  
  
"So, although he wasn't happy about it, Merrik gave  
in. John started patrolling with me. He got to be good at  
it.   
  
"You know how the council pulls strings every once in  
awhile to have things their way? They did that for me.   
Got me out of government care. They thought I was living  
with Mer, but I was sharing an apartment with John. Not  
sharing, we didn't get paid for slaying back then -"  
  
"Still don't."  
  
"- and John paid for everything. He took care of me  
when I wasn't actually slaying. Things happened and I  
ended up pregnant.  
  
"Mer flipped. I never saw him lose it like that  
before or after. In the end, he was there for me. He  
didn't tell the council. He just got all of these old  
books and started researching. It wasn't his style.   
Supposedly watchers are researchers, but he liked hands  
on. His place was stacked to the ceiling with books,  
trying to find out what to do with a pregnant slayer.   
Every once in a while, he'd come across a book on  
childbirth and child care that John had snuck in. He  
really liked Mer and loved teasing him. He thought it was  
so funny to sneak those books in there with all of Mer's  
ancient writings.   
  
"As far as Mer knew, a slayer getting pregnant had  
never happened before. He was wrong.  
  
"Late one night, he came across a very small entry in  
a Slayer's journal. The way I understood it is that this  
entry was written before the Watcher's Council took  
control of the slayers. Anyway, it was in this little  
journal entry, the one thing the Council never planned on.  
All it said was that she, the Slayer, had lost her  
abilities as she entered her third month of pregnancy and  
a new slayer had come to her for guidance.  
  
"Mer had never heard this story. He talked to one of  
his allies on the Council. She had never heard the story  
either, but it was written in the journals. It was an  
established procedure.  
  
"We tried to keep my pregnancy a secret until it got  
in the way of slaying. Somehow, the Council found out.   
Merrik confronted them with the history. They were   
infuriated. How dare anyone try to dictate to them what  
was acceptable or not. They could not argue with their  
own books though.  
  
"One night, just before we were ready to give up my   
right to the title of slayer, Mer got word from his lady   
friend that the Council planned to have me killed so that  
a new slayer could be called naturally without the secret  
being discovered. They just couldn't have anymore slayers  
finding out about this way out of their duty.  
  
"Mer called in some favors and arranged for John and  
I to be married. On our wedding night, he had John drive  
us to an empty field. In that van out there, as a matter  
of fact. I didn't know why, but I went along. Sometimes  
I still regret it.  
  
"We all climbed out of the van. I was startled when  
he hugged me. I knew he loved me, but he had never shown   
affection like that. He simply told me that what must be   
done was done and that this van was one of his wedding  
gifts to us. He told us that he wanted us to get in that  
van and just drive away. To not look back.   
  
"He went on and told me that I was supposed to be  
killed and that he wasn't going to let that happen. He  
told me to get in the van and go. John did. He walked to  
the driver's side and climbed in. I couldn't though. I  
argued with Mer.   
  
"While we were arguing, some vamps came out of  
nowhere. I wanted to fight, but Mer threw open the door  
and pushed me up and into the passenger seat. I tried to  
get out. John wouldn't let me. He just tried to comfort  
me and told me that Mer could handle himself. The last  
time I saw Mer, he had just dusted one of the vamps.  
  
"But before I was forced into the van, Mer pushed an   
envelope into my pocket and told me to open it when we got  
wherever 'this' got us where it took us.' The THIS was a  
wad of cash. When I counted it later, there was over  
$7,000.  
  
"The note simply told me that he was proud of me. It  
talked about the council's plans to be rid of me. He  
said to go where we couldn't be found and to send him a   
postcard. He said not to put anything on the card, just  
drop it in a mailbox with a stamp and then pick up and  
leave to go somewhere else. He couldn't impress on us  
enough that we were to keep moving until I heard from him.  
How he planned on getting in touch, I never knew, but I  
had learned not to question him.  
  
"A couple of months later, I did just what he said.   
I sent him a card. I never heard form him again until I  
got the letter.  
  
"Right after Marika's sixth birthday, I got this  
letter. I remember getting it, because I recognized the   
handwriting and thought he was sending a card for his  
namesake. Here's the letter. Read it." With that, she  
handed the letter to Buffy.  
  
'My dearest girl,  
I am so glad to find you well. I think of you   
often and am always pleased to hear that you are well or  
that Marika has done something sweet. I am amazed that  
you would name your daughter for me, but it is indeed an  
honor.   
I never told you, but I loved you as my own   
daughter. Of course, to tell you then would have  
jeopardized your learning.  
I fear my time on this earth is drawing near. It's  
not an explainable feeling, but I feel compelled to   
contact you and make arrangements.   
There may come a time when you need me. I will   
know it and I will be there. If the time comes and you do  
not hear from me, assume I am gone. If this happens, I  
urge you to search out the current slayer. Unless I am   
mistaken, that slayer will be a beautiful young lady named  
Buffy Ann Summers. If that time does come, you are to  
give her this second letter, which I have enclosed under  
seperate cover.  
This girl reminds me of you in many ways. She can  
be much more beligerant than you ever were, but she is  
good. To be honest, I feel that she will be known in the  
future as THE slayer. There is something about her. It  
is unexplainable.   
I realize that this letter is full of   
unexplainable things, however I feel that you will  
understand me.  
As this may be the last contact we have, let me   
tell you again - I love you. You have always made me  
proud.  
Oh, you may be wondering - how did I keep the   
Watcher's Council from you? I used their own plan.   
Obviously, I succeeded in ridding the world of the  
creatures that attacked us that night. I simply told the  
Council that we were attacked and that while I was  
fighting one of the ungodly beasts, you were fighting two  
of them. I am sure that you will be saddened by this, but  
with my hands full, the other two were able to overcome  
you and feed off of you. To add injury to insult, they  
made you feed from them. I was unaware of this. As I  
cradled your dead body, you woke and attacked me. Much to  
my own grief, I was forced to put a stake through your  
heart.  
So, my dead undead daughter, I close. Be kind to   
life.  
Yours forever,  
M'  
  
Buffy swallowed hard. She couldn't let tears come.   
Not yet. She needed the rest of the story. She pulled  
out her own letter and started to open it. Her heart was  
beating fast, her plams were sweating.  
  
"Buffy? Would you mind if I finish my story before  
you read that?"  
  
She thought about it for a split second and put the  
letter back in her pocket. "Go on."  
  
"I was shocked to get that from him. Except for one  
card with a baby picture in it, I had never written or  
sent him anything. Well, we settled down outside of a  
small town in Texas. Victoria, Texas. Life was good for  
years. Marika was growing up, not a clue that we were  
hiding from anyone.  
  
"One day she came home and wanted to know if vampires  
were real. That scared me more than anything I've ever  
encountered. All I could think was that they found us.   
She said that some man just walked up to her and said to  
watch out for vampires.  
  
"We left that night. Drove around the country for  
seven weeks. We ended up in a small navy town in Nevada.   
Fallon. We stayed there until John disappeared. I woke  
up one morning and he was gone. Did I tell you we were  
living in a small trailer, pulling it around behind our  
van? That morning, he was gone. The door had been forced  
open. Nothing else was disturbed and Marika was sound  
asleep.  
  
"That was fourteen months ago. I tried to contact  
Mer then, but I found out that he had died. I remembered  
the letter and looked for you. It didn't take long to  
find out that you were in Sunnydale. When I got here  
though, I found out that you were dead, too. Well, you  
were here, but somehow you weren't. I saw you with your  
friends one night, but the town was over run by vamps and  
demons. I figured that it wasn't really you, that if you  
were as good as Mer said, then there wouldn't be that many  
creatures in this town.  
  
"I read some old newspapers and found out you had  
been in an accident. That you had fallen from the top of  
a construction site or something. I put two and two  
together and figured something had happened to you and  
that your friends were pulling some sort of magic on  
people to hide your death. I felt like there was nowhere  
else to go.   
  
"I didn't know how to explain to Marika about John  
being gone. Remember that she was forteen at that time.   
Out of the blue, she asked me if it had something to do  
with that man and the vampires and the changes she was  
going through.  
  
"Again, I was scared more than ever. I asked her  
what changes and she described what she felt, exactly what  
I had felt fifteen years before, when Mer found me. And  
it was then that I knew. A slayer had died. I figured it  
was you. A little research showed me that there was  
another slayer, a true slayer I guess you'd say, in prison  
in Los Angeles. I was really surprised to find out that  
you were more of a substitute slayer, but what concerned  
me more was that Marika was being called to replace you  
when you weren't THE Slayer. That shouldn't have  
happened. If she was to be the next slayer, which I would  
fight with my last breath, it wouldn't happen until the  
one in jail was dead.  
  
"Anyway, I told her this story. She accepted it much  
more easily than I ever did. She was excited about it.   
So, to keep me sane, more than any other reason, we ran  
again. We've been running every since.   
  
"Last week, I was awakened in the middle of the night  
by the silence. It was wrong. When I went in the living  
area - that's where she sleeps - she was gone. I looked  
for her for three days. I couldn't go to the police  
because I was afraid the council would find out, if they  
didn't already know. That's when I decided to find YOUR  
watcher.   
  
"I got here yesterday and discovered that all of  
those vamps and demons were gone again. That part, I  
couldn't figure out. You were dead, weren't you?"   
  
When Buffy nodded, Laura continued. "I went to the  
library and looked you up in the computer. I thought that  
if there was any mention of you, that there would be  
mention of your friends. I hoped that they could give me  
information, that if they didn't really know your secret,  
then maybe they could at least give me some clue as to who  
your watcher would be. And I found out that you had a  
sister. I actually came here to see her, to see if she  
could tell me about your watcher. That's when I saw you  
on the porch with Willow. I was working up my courage to  
approach you, to figure out how you could be here - oh  
hell, I don't know. You are really you, aren't you?"  
  
Buffy nodded again. "Yeah, I'm me. I don't have a  
watcher anymore. Well, I do, but he doesn't watch me.   
He's in England."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Can I read my letter now?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sunnydale's secret champion opened her letter and  
started reading. No one spoke while she read.  
  
'Buffy -  
If you are reading this, you may safely assume  
I am dead, just as I posthumously assume that you are  
still the slayer.  
The woman that is giving you this letter  
holds a very special place in my heart. She was my third   
slayer, and it was because of my love for her that she was  
almost my last. She will tell you the story, I am sure.  
I am writing this to ask that you do  
everything in your power, and that of your watcher,  
to help Laura.  
I want you to know that I cared a great deal  
for you. Had I not died, I think it is safe to say that  
we would have grown close. I saw great potential in you,  
potential that I have seen in no other, not even my dear  
Laura.  
I am proud of what you are going to become.  
Be kind to life.  
From my heart,  
Merrik'  
  
Buffy was silent for a moment. She looked at Laura  
and wiped a tear from her eye, and Laura did the same.   
Buffy took Laura's hand in her own and told the former  
slayer to tell her anything that might help them figure  
out what had ahppened to John and Marika.  
  
Willow stood up. "I'll get us something fresh to  
drink."  
  
While they sipped their tea, Laura told Buffy  
everything she could think of that might help. Buffy was  
stumped, however. "Honestly, I've never been good at this  
detective stuff. I just don't know what to do."  
  
"I do," Willow offered.  
  
Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow.   
  
"Good grief, Buffy! You know what to do. Call  
Giles."  
  
Without a word, Buffy stood, walked to the phone, and  
began dialing the overseas number. 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 3/7  
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based on an idea by Aristide.  
  
E-mail: memarkw@yahoo.com  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that  
these characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to Lord Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns, Bev, and MeB for catching  
the little oopses...  
  
_______________________________________  
  
  
Three days had come and gone since Giles had received  
the call from Buffy. He managed to book the first  
flight to LAX the moment the connection with her had been  
terminated.   
  
According to his source within the inner sanctum of  
the Council, Laura Warren was long dead. As far as the  
source knew, the Council has no operations which involved  
finding anyone involved with the supposedly dead Slayer.   
  
The former Watcher walked down the stairs to find  
Buffy pacing restlessly. When she noticed him standing  
there, she stepped up to him.  
  
"Giles, are you sure? How do you know you can trust  
this person? This so-called source of yours? She IS on  
the Council."  
  
Rupert sighed. Placing a hand on Buffy's shoulder,  
he led her to the sofa. "Buffy, I've repeated this more  
than once. I trust her implicitly. I know you don't  
belive me, but not every member of the Council is so  
bad. A few are downright decent chaps. Or ladies, as it  
were. If Amberly says the Council isn't involved, they  
aren't involved."  
  
"If you say so. I hate this - this sitting here just  
doing nothing. I should have gone with Willow and Laura  
to get the trailer."  
  
"Buffy, sit down. Wearing a hole in the carpet isn't  
going to solve anything."  
  
She hadn't even realized that she had moved from the  
couch, or that she was walking back and forth again.  
  
"I can't get over the fact that if I get pregnant, I  
lose my abilities."  
  
"I never met Merrik. From what I understand, he was  
an upright fellow. However, we can't just believe what  
Laura has told us. Not that I think she's lying to us, of  
course, but we need to see that particular journal for  
ourselves."  
  
"So, get it. I'm the Slayer," she stopped moving and  
placed her closed fists on her hips. "You're my Watcher.   
Watcher's research and my Watcher has priority. Get the  
journal."  
  
"I'm afraid it's not that-that simple. We don't  
know which journal he found it in. All we know is that it  
was supposedly before the Council existed. That means we  
have to find a journal that is well over a thousand years  
old. I just don't know how to explain that to the Council  
without them asking dangerous questions."  
  
"So, call your friend - this Amberly person."  
  
"Buffy-"  
  
"No! Call her! I want to know what's happening,  
why so many girls died without knowing that there was a  
way out of this...this...THIS!" The Slayer threw her hand  
upwards and outwards wtih her exclamation.  
  
"I was going to say that I just got off the phone  
with-with Amberly. She is going to express several  
journals from pre-Council years."  
  
"Did you tell her what we're looking for?"  
  
"No, but she did ask if I was looking for the  
journal of the slayer who had given birth."  
  
"What?! How?"  
  
"Amberly is much older than I, Buffy. She's been a  
member of the Council for nearly half a century."  
  
"And you think-"  
  
"No. I know it. She was the acquaintance that  
Merrik referred to. She said that she hadn't thought of  
that journal since Merrik researched it."  
  
"Wow," Buffy exhaled as she fell onto the couch.   
There's a... connection now, huh?"  
  
"It would seem so. I have to say, though, that I  
don't like the way that you are handling this."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You act as if though you've just discovered a secret  
cure for a disease. It's not that simple. Do you think  
that if it's true, you can just run out and-and-and find  
some young man to impregnate you? Just so you can stop  
slaying?"  
  
The Slayer was silent. What Giles had just accused  
her of hit her like a ton of bricks. She hadn't realized  
it, but she WAS a little excited about the fact that she  
could get out of slaying by getting pregnant. Now that  
she thought about it though, it was crazy. She could  
never have a baby just to get her out of a situation. She  
wasn't that kind of person. Was she? No!   
  
Giles put an arm around her. "We'll find Laura's  
husband and Marika. Once that is done, we'll look into  
this whole pregnancy thing."  
  
Buffy was about to reply when they heard a loud  
engine outside. Peering throught the curtain, she saw  
that Laura and Willow had returned.  
  
Willow was pulling her overnight bag from the back of  
the van when her friend reached around her and grabbed it.  
Willow turned to give Buffy a hug.  
  
"What a boring drive! That little town they were  
living in is so...boring."  
  
"Yeah, well, try sitting on your hands for three  
days."  
  
Giles was already examining the little motorhome.   
Just as Laura had said, there were signs that the door had  
been forced open. He could see where she had done some  
repair work so that it would lock again. He noticed a  
small metallic shimmer just behind the door handle. He  
pulled a small roll of surgical tape from his pocket,  
unaware of the looks he received from the females present,  
and placed it over the area where he had seen the shimmer.  
  
A few seconds later, he entered the trailer. It was  
quite...cozy. He was standing in a combination kitchen  
-living area. At his left elbow was a small sink.   
Directly next to the sink was a small stove. No more  
than two steps across from the stove was a tiny  
refrigerator. An empty countertop, no more than eighteen  
inches square, was next to the fridge, across from the  
sink.   
  
To his right was a small seat that one would assume  
served as a sofa, with an identical seat across from it.  
Situated between the two was a table that seemed to fold  
downwards if the table leg was pushed upwards. On the  
table were a small television and stereo. Roughly three  
feet above the table was a sleeping area of some sort.   
It was a small mattress with a homemade shelf, on which  
sat an extremely small lamp, clock, and book. The book  
was laid on the shelf, open-faced down. There was a drape  
of sorts at one end of the bed which apparently was drawn  
lengthwise for semblance of privacy.   
  
Towards the back end of the kitchen area, on the  
other side of the fridge, was a door, which he assumed led  
to the bathing area. Opening the door, he found his  
assumption to be correct. There was a small toilet with  
just enough room to sit and place one's feet in front of  
himself. From this sitting postition, one could reach  
across to wash one's hands in a small sink, or reach up  
to adjust a shower head. It seemed as though one would  
shower in this sitting postion.  
  
Across from the bathing area door, was a small  
closet. There was a partition pulled across the small  
corridor. Opening the plastic partition, he found a bed.   
It was the entire width of the small trailer, and appeared  
to be a foot shorter in length than the average adult  
height.  
  
He turned around and went back to the sitting area.   
He sat down and wondered how any person could live like  
this, much less three people.  
  
"You do what you have to do for the safety of your  
child, Mr. Giles."  
  
Startled, and ashamed that he had been caught  
thinking out loud, he turned to face Laura. "I'm-I'm  
sorry. I didn't mean to voice that question. I certainly  
don't mean to sound judgemental."  
  
"It's OK. I understand. I thought the same thing  
when I first saw it. After the first day, I just wanted  
to cry. After the first week, I started getting the hang  
of it. After the first month, we were moving around in  
here like pros. Like I said, you do what you have to do  
for the safety of your child."  
  
"Yes, I suppose one does at that." He thought of the  
reasons why he'd left Sunnydale.  
  
"So, what do we do now?"  
  
The tone of her voice reminded him of his own slayer.  
He was perplexed. Here was a woman who had been a  
slayer. She hadn't died, she had found herself with  
child. She was still alive. It meant that there was a  
way out for Buffy. He was ashamed of himself, thinking  
that. It wasn't right. How much longer could Buffy  
continue before she was killed, though? The next  
time...well, the next time, there would be no bringing her  
back. If this whole mess ended up revealing a way for  
Buffy to quit slaying, he was going to do his damnedest to  
find it.  
  
He let his eyes wander lazily, not looking for  
anything, while he thought. Another metallic shimmer  
caught his eye. It was on the floor near the entrance  
to the trailer; there was another near the bathing area.   
It didn't look like blood, but the pattern made him think  
that was exactly what it might be. He pulled out the  
tape and took a sample from each of the spots.  
  
Buffy had poked her head into the trailer, just in  
time to see her friend pulling tape from the floor.  
  
"Whatcha doing?"  
  
"If my suspicion is correct, this is blood of some  
sort. It could give us an idea as to who or what caused  
John to disappear."  
  
Laura sighed. "It's been a long time. I can't  
belive I didn't notice that."  
  
Buffy tried to ease the burden. "Don't worry about  
it. I miss stuff like that all the time."  
  
Giles stood up and pushed his way past the Slayer-the  
current Slayer. He approached Willow, who was on her  
way back to the van from the house.  
  
"Willow, can you test this? I think it's a demon  
blood. I'd appreciate it if you would analyze it and  
compare it to all known demon bloods. If we can figure  
out what it came from, perhaps we can pinpoint the  
location of the creature that left that for us."  
  
Willow shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, that's what I'm  
here for. Trusty Willow here to research. Maybe I  
should be a watcher?"  
  
Giles gave Willow a look that Buffy recognized. It  
was one that he gave Buffy when she did or said something  
that he wanted kept secret or that she herself shouldn't  
know.  
  
Laura walked came out of the trailer and asked Buffy  
if she could park the trailer in the driveway and hook up  
the electricity.  
  
"Why?" the younger woman asked.  
  
"I'm thinking of calling it an early night."  
  
Buffy laughed. "No, you can't park it and hook it  
up."  
  
  
"Oh."  
  
"You can park it, but you don't need electricity.   
You're staying in the house."  
  
"I can't. I wouldn't want to take anyone's bed."  
  
"You can have Dawn's room. How convenient that my  
dad decides to play Father-of-the-Year this summer, huh?   
Dawnie's gone till the end of August."  
  
"What about Mr. Giles?"  
  
"He's got Will's room. She's sharing with me.   
Really, it's no problem."  
  
"Well, if you're sure..."  
  
Giles took Laura's arm. "She's sure. Come on. I  
could use a bite to eat."  
  
Laura pulled away from the Watcher, gently. "I need  
to grab some things from inside and lock up first."  
  
Buffy and Giles waited for Laura to do the things she  
needed to do. After about fifteem minutes, she stepped  
out of the trailer and locked the door behind her.  
  
As they entered the house, Willow ran down the  
stairs. "I found it! It was a lot easier than I thought  
it'd be! It's a Greunzyk Slith."  
  
Giles stopped short. "Oh, dear." He took off his  
glasses and started to clean them with his handkerchief.  
You're sure of that?"  
  
Willow looked insulted. "Yeah, I'm sure. You can  
double check if you want."  
  
"No, it's quite alright. I'll take your word for  
it." He put the glasses back on his face, pushing them  
up. Again, he said "Oh, dear."  
  
"Oh, dear?" Buffy and Laura asked.  
  
"Oh, dear. The Greunzyk Slith is part demon, part  
warlock. It feeds on memories. It's not usually an  
aggressive creature, though. It feeds in small doses  
from unconcious victims. The effect is similar to that of  
a drunken blackout. The fact that one of them forced its'  
way into the motor home and was injured indicates that it  
was aggressive. We need to find out where they are."  
  
"But, how do we do that? Just go up to each and  
every one we meet and ask it if it attacked John?" Laura  
demanded of Giles.  
  
"No, finding them should be fairly simple. They are  
not great in numbers. I believe it is safe to say there  
are only about thirty or forty in existence at one time.  
They tend to reproduce at the same rate they pass away.   
The good part is that they travel in large packs. Right  
now there are only two such packs known in the country."  
  
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You know this how?"  
  
Giles looked at her sheepishly. "The Council has me  
updating books and records. Some creatures are kept  
under watch, as they tend to come in...handy...at times."  
  
Buffy put up a hand. "Don't tell me anymore. That  
alone makes me think that they aren't going to be happy  
to deal with us. I mean, if the Council REQUESTS their  
assistance at times, these Gretzky Sloths aren't going  
to be volunteering. I know how the Council works. Demons  
do it the the way the Council wants it done or the Council  
decides the demon dies."  
  
Willow spoke up. "Laura, are you sure you don't  
remember anything about John disappearing?"  
  
"Just what I told you. Why?"  
  
"Well, if a Greunzyk Slith," she looked at Buffy,  
trying to send a message that the Slayer had pronounced  
it wrong, "feeds like Giles says, then it's possible you  
saw what happened to John. What if the Slith fed off of  
you that night to remove your memories of it?" 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 4/7  
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based on an idea by Aristide.  
  
E-mail: memarkw@yahoo.com  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that these  
characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to Lord Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Note: To the best of my knowledge, although Silver  
Springs is a real place, there are no motels located  
there. The Dusty Inn is purely fictional.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns, Bev, and MeB for catching  
the little oopses...  
  
  
*************  
  
  
Giles' determined the Slith hadn't fed from  
Laura due to the fact she'd remembered everything from  
the time she went to bed, her dreams, and the moment she  
woke up. Had she been fed from, she would not have  
remembered the dreams, much less going to bed.   
  
The small group spent the next day tossing around  
ideas. They were getting nowhere fast. Buffy spoke up  
with authority.  
  
"Giles, call the Council. If you won't, I'll call  
Cordy. She can get the number for me. Find out where  
exactly this Sloth - Slith colony is and let's pay it a  
visit."  
  
"Buffy, I don't think-"  
  
"Don't think. Do." With that, she turned and headed  
upstairs to start packing. Within the half hour, Giles  
joined her.  
  
"Well, it would appear as though the Slith haven't  
moved for awhile. They're outside of a small town in  
Nevada. Silver Springs, Nevada."  
  
"Let me guess. This Silver Springs is really close  
to Fallon, or wherever Laura was when John disappeared."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So, that means that if they did have something to do  
with John's disappearing, it wasn't malicious."  
  
"Um, that's right. How did you-"  
  
"I've had to do a lot of thinking for myself the last  
year and a half or so."  
  
Rupert didn't miss the acussatory tone in her voice.   
She hadn't entirely forgiven him for leaving. "Buffy,  
before I go home, to England, we're going to have a-a  
talk."  
  
"I don't think we need to-"  
  
"We WILL have a talk. I'm going to see if the others  
are ready. I'll meet you down stairs." He turned and  
left in a hurry.  
  
Buffy sighed. She loved him. He knew he loved her.   
He never fully realized what his leaving had affected her.  
He could say he did all he wanted, but he didn't! If he  
knew how hard it had been, how hard it still was, he would  
have come back. No, he would never have left.   
  
She finished getting ready to go and joined the  
others downstairs. "Road trip?"  
  
That drew a smile from Willow. "Road trip! I just  
hope it's a little less boring than my last trip to dry,  
dusty, sandy, um, beautiful Nevada."  
  
"Hey," Laura exclaimed, "it wasn't that bad!"  
  
Willow just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Laura rolled her eyes. "So, it was that bad. You  
can't say I didn't try to ease the monotony."  
  
"You're right. It's just that license plate bingo  
and '99 Bottles of Beer' get old after awhile. They get  
old after an hour."  
  
Laura managed a chuckle. "Actually, they get old  
after two minutes."  
  
After Buffy called Xander and filled him in on what  
was going on, and where they would be, they all climbed  
into the minivan Giles had rented for their trip. Laura  
had offered the use of her van, but when Willow groaned,  
Giles suggested the rented vehicle instead. To add insult  
to injury, when the 298 mile trip took a little less than  
five hours, Willow pointed out that it had taken almost  
twelve hours in Laura's van.  
  
They pulled up in front of a small motel. As the  
others got out, Giles looked up at the neon sign and  
noticed the 'S' was burnt out. The Dusty Inn was now the  
Duty Inn. He went in and paid for two rooms - one for the  
women and one for himself. After getting settled for what  
they hoped would be a short stay, they found the nearest  
restaurant. While it called itself a restaraunt, it was  
more of a grease trap in a local casino.  
  
Over hamburgers - vastly overpriced hamburgers - they  
discussed what to do next. They had gone over options in  
the van.   
  
"Well, from what you've told us, they like sandy  
areas. That covers about, oh, I don't know - the whole  
state!" Buffy pointed out.  
  
A little grump and tired from the drive, Giles bit  
back. "You're the bloody Slayer! Use your 'spidey sense'  
and find them."  
  
Laura tried to bring the tiff down a level, but  
didn't have much luck. The noise stopped soon enough when  
Willow, who had been unfolding a road map, plopped the map  
in the center of the table, taking up the whole area.   
Before anyone could complain, she placed a spoon on the  
speck that was Silver Springs and uttered two words.  
  
"Greunzyk Slith."  
  
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the  
spoon slip a couple of inches on the map, rotated about  
120 degrees, and stood on its' tip. Giles pulled out his  
note pad and jotted down the coordinates. He then removed  
the spoon and placed it in his hot tea. After taking a  
sip, he asked Willow to enter the coordinates into her  
PDA. She quickly informed the group that the colony was  
seven miles north of town, located 3 miles from US95 by  
foot.  
  
Willow paid for their meal and they hurried back to  
the minivan. It took about ten minutes to reach a point  
where they could pull off the road, past the shoulder and  
into the sand.  
  
"Won't the state police have us towed?" asked Willow  
as they climbed down into the sand.  
  
Laura put her worries to rest. "It's the highway  
patrol. Most of them spend their time patrolling US 50,  
just outside of Fallon. They have a fatal accident about  
once a week on that road, so they spend a lot of time  
there. If they do come this way, they'll just flag it and  
give us three days to move it."  
  
"Oh." The explanation was good enough for the rest  
of them.  
  
After searching for an hour or so, Buffy noticed a  
dark spot on a small sand hill. Closer inspection found  
it to be a hole just large enough for a small man to enter  
if he stooped low.  
  
Giles', not exactly a small man, got to his knees and  
called out. "Onkhu shmaemel." A series of grunts from  
inside the hole prompted Giles to return the noise.   
  
To the surprise of slayers and witch alike, a  
creature crawled out of the hole. Had it stood straight,  
it would have been over seven feet tall; however, all the  
years of subterranean living had deformed the creature  
into a permanent stooping posture, making it look much  
shorter.  
  
With halted English, it spoke. "I have known of you,  
Giles Rupert. Said is it that you are like not of the  
Council of Watchthings. Seek the male human, Giles Rupert  
are. I think of you to come many moons before this time.   
Come. Human male in place dwelling of long move of here.   
True I am?"  
  
With the exception of Giles, all that the group  
understood was that the creature knew of Giles, knew of  
another human male, and was expecting Giles to appear  
before now.   
  
Giles replied in the language of the Slith. It  
replied in its' English as it looked at Laura.  
  
"Human male is of human female. Of harm I want not.   
Eat great much. Great much ouch. Of harm I want not.   
Come he did I made to place with sickness. Place of shine  
birds loud. Many moons to move. Ittle Greun go seeless.   
Tribu of made to it of sees light. Speak you to move  
human male. No speak I to move ittle Greun. No harm is  
I."  
  
With that, he turned and seemed to disappear into his  
hole. Buffy moved to stop him, but Giles held her back  
with his hand on her arm.  
  
"Giles! We have to find out what he knows!"  
  
"He told us everything. He told us more than  
enough."  
  
Laura held her breath. "The human male. It belongs  
to me, doesn't it? He told you where John is?"  
  
"Yes. There's more. He said that he knows of me,  
that I am to be trusted, unlike the Council. He was  
expecting me long before this night. He didn't want to  
hurt John. Something, or someone, with eyes like light  
took one of the Slith children. Whoever it was used the  
child to make this Slith," he pointed to where the Slith  
had stood, "do its' will didn't return the child. He said  
he didn't want to hurt John, but that he had to feed from  
him. He had to feed too much, much more than he normally  
would and it made him sick, all of the 'food.' Again, he  
didn't want to hurt him and he took him far from here to a  
place where sick people go. A hospital in a place with  
loud planes. He said we would find John because he told  
us  
where he was. He said he would not find his little Slith  
beacuse whoever used him didn't give it back as he  
promised."  
  
Willow whispered, then she spoke out loud. "John's  
alive. He's at the hospital in Fallon. Giles, I can't  
find its' child. I tried. Something dark has to be  
blocking me."  
  
"I'm sorry he lost his baby, but he's not the only  
one. Can we go to John and then find Marika?"  
  
With one last look at the hole, the friends headed  
back to their vehicle.  
  
There was no conversation on the trip to Fallon.   
Each traveler was occupied with his or her own thoughts.   
  
Giles hadn't mentioned it, but whatever had taken the  
young Slith had told the older Slith to expect Giles to  
appear soon. Whoever it was knew that he would come  
looking for them. That bothered him. It would seem that  
whoever was behind this mess knew him and the Council.   
The Council was a very secret organization. It worried  
him.  
  
Willow was bothered by the fact that her magic hadn't  
revealed the young Slith. She hadn't wanted to speak out  
of turn, but she was almost certain that the creature was  
alive. Whatever had it, though, was making sure it  
couldn't be found. Willow had had her experience with the  
dark magics. While it would never control her again, she  
was able to draw from its' strength and use it for her own  
magic. She had learned more than she could have hoped for  
from the coven that Giles had introduced her to. Buffy  
knew that Willow had her self under control and couldn't  
lose it, but she had no idea just how powerful Willow was.  
No one did, save Giles and herself. The occasion to have  
to reveal it had never risen, and she hoped it never  
would. For something to be dark enough, powerful enough,  
to block her from finding the little Slith scared her.  
  
Buffy thought of the Slith and the missing young one.  
The Slith had done something it knew was wrong in order  
to protect its' child. Would she do something like that  
for her own children? She knew she would. She would do  
it for her family. Not the man who called himself her  
father, but her real family. Her mom, Dawn, Giles,  
Xander, and Willow. She might have done it for Tara and  
Anya, but they were in the past. She was the Slayer. If  
she had children, she wouldn't be the Slayer anymore.   
That wouldn't stop evil from coming after her. It would  
still attack her and her family. Even if she gave up her  
duty by having a child, she would still have to fight.   
Laura was living proof of that. Having kids and losing  
the official slayer title didn't end the looking over your  
shoulder for danger every step you took.  
  
Laura was lost in her own thoughts. John was in the  
hospital. At least, he was alive. What was wrong with  
him? She was afraid of what she would find. Would going  
to him, taking the time to find him take away from the  
time she could be looking for her baby girl? She didn't  
think she could ever forgive herself if something happened  
to Marika because she had wasted time looking for John.   
She wasn't wasting time! He was alive! That was all that  
mattered. It wasn't all that mattered, but for now, it  
was all she would worry about. She had new friends to  
help her and she was going to take this thing one step at  
a time.  
  
Buffy was surprised by the size of the hospital.   
There was a sign that said Trauma Center, but the building  
wasn't much bigger than a large apartment building in Los  
Angeles. The Hyperion was ten times the size of this  
place. Granted, the Hyperion used to be a hotel, but it  
gave her something to judge this place by.  
  
Since it was after hours, the four of them entered  
through the emergency room entrance. Laura approached the  
small, sliding glass window. She noticed the sign that  
said "If you are sick, please take a face mask." She  
wondered what good a face mask would do?  
  
A chipper little nurse looked up at Laura. "What can  
we do for you?"  
  
Laura wanted to grab the woman and pull her through  
the window. She wanted to tell the woman that this was an  
emergency room, not a goddamned drive up window! What in  
the hell did the woman think she could do for people who  
walked up to her little window?  
  
The former slayer gathered her wits and calmed  
herself down. "I don't know if you can help me. My  
husband is missing. Someone told me he was here. Can you  
tell me if he is?"  
  
The nurse started to roll her eyes and realized that  
Laura could see her. "Um, have you called the police?   
Usually, they're the ones that deal with missing  
people."  
  
Trying to keep her calm, Laura repeated herself.   
"Someone told me my husband's in this hospital. Could  
you just check for me? Please?" She even managed a smile  
with the please. She was losing it. She looked over at  
her friends, who didn't notice. They were already  
discussing how to find Marika. She wished that she had  
had friends like that when she was younger.  
  
The nurse continued to be obstinate. "I can call the  
police for you. Would you like me to do that?" Her  
voiced dripped with fake sugar.  
  
Without warning, Laura reached through the window and  
grabbed the nurse by her scrub top. She pulled her up  
until she was nose to nose with the pissed slayer.  
  
In no more than a hushed whisper, one that could only  
be heard by her and the nurse, Laura spoke, instantly  
aware that Buffy, Giles, Willow, and the rent-a-cop that  
called himself security were already moving to pull her  
off the nurse. "Listen, you bitch! My husband's name is  
John Warren. He's in one of those fucking hospital beds  
up there and unless you look up his name right now, I'm  
going to squeeze those beady little eyes out of your fake  
wanna-be Clara Barton head before that chubby little  
bastard can get his gun out!" She pushed the R.N. back  
into her seat, which rolled a few feet out of Laura's  
grasp.  
  
The nurse, having had the fear of something put into  
her, waved off the security guard and instantly started  
typing on the keyboard, which was still a good eighteen  
inches from her body. Pulling herself up to it, she  
spoke, quietly and sincerely to Laura. "Is that A-r-i?"  
  
"Yes. Warren. W-a-r-r-e-n. Thank you."  
  
The nurse's eyes opened wide and she opened her mouth  
to speak. She instantly thought better of it. She gave  
her tormentor instructions to the third floor and sent her  
on her way. The second she and her friends were out of  
sight, the nurse was on the phone.  
  
"Betty? You have trouble. Get Doctor Andrens up  
there right away. The John Doe? The one who only says  
John? I don't care if there is only one John Doe! A  
woman  
is on her way up there right now looking for her husband  
named John and she may be dangerous if you don't answer  
her  
exactly the way she wants. She tried to kill me because I  
asked her if I could help her! Get the doctor. You don't  
want to be the one to explain what's wrong with the guy!"  
  
When the quartet stepped off the elevator, they found  
an older man waiting for them. "Mrs. Warren?" he asked,  
waiting for someone to volunteer herself.  
  
Laura stepped forward.  
  
"Let's go in here and sit down. Your friends can  
join us if you'd like."  
  
"Oh, god, please don't tell me he's dead or dying."  
  
"No, no! Physically, he's perfectly healthy.   
Please, have a seat." He guided her to a sofa in the room  
he had just led them into.  
  
"What do you mean, 'physically'?" Giles questioned.  
  
"Just that. He's very physically fit. I wish I was  
so lucky. He has a healthy appetite, he's strong, he's  
aware, he's fit."  
  
"You said he's physically fit, but what about  
emotionally?" Buffy asked this as she looked at Willow.   
Her friend had been emotionally unfit and it hadn't been  
pretty.   
  
Willow sensed Buffy's thoughts and reached over to  
squeeze her hand.  
  
"That's a problem. He seems to have amnesia. I say  
seems to because I can't find a clinical cause for it.   
There is no head or brain trauma. He didn't appear to be  
in any state of shock when he was found."  
  
"Where was he found?"  
  
"Oddly enough, he was sitting on the heliport, right  
outside the ambulance entrance. Security cameras make it  
look like he was carried in with the shadows, but we can't  
figure that out, either. As I was saying, technically, I  
can't find anything wrong with him. When anyone speaks to  
him, he simply says 'I'm John, I'm John.' I would have  
diagnosed him as mentally disabled, but he doesn't seem to  
be mentally slow. He's stumped us. Can you tell us  
what's wrong with him?"  
  
Laura started to cry. "I don't know. He's been  
missing. He was fine the last time I saw him."  
  
The doctor wanted to ask why she hadn't gone to the  
police, but he'd heard what happened downstairs when that  
sweet admissions nurse had asked the same question. He  
gather the people and took them to John's room.  
  
When they walked in, Laura rushed to her husband and  
wrapped her arms around him and started sobbing. When she  
finally let him go, he grinned up at her and said "I'm  
John."  
  
"I know, honey. I know."  
  
After working their way through the red tape of  
leaving a.m.a (against medical advice) and signing the  
necessary papers, and convincing the one brave soul who  
insisted on contacting the police that there was no need,  
they headed back to their hotel, 35 miles away. Willow,  
Buffy, and Giles ended up sharing a room so that Laura  
could have some time alone with her husband. Buffy made  
sure that the lost man couldn't sneak out for any reason  
in the middle of the night. A hot shower and delivered  
pizza later, they were all asleep, dreaming their own  
troubled dreams.  
  
The last thing Laura remembered was brushing tears  
from her face.  
  
The next morning, Willow checked out while Giles  
loaded their bags and Buffy helped Laura get John loaded  
into the backseat of the van. The man looked at Buffy and  
smiled. "I'm John!"  
  
Buffy smiled back. "I'm Buffy."  
  
Again, "I'm John."  
  
She buckled his seat belt and sat next to Laura,  
draping a supportive arm around her. "We'll fix this. I  
don't know how, but we will. We always do. It's what we  
do. I mean, come on, I've died twice!" She frowned.   
"There's a song in that. I think."  
  
When Willow returned to the minivan, they started the  
five hour journey. It had been a long twenty-four hours.   
After getting this much of the puzzle solved, they all  
felt just a little bit better. Finding Marika should be a  
bit easier. Together, they were ready for anything.  
  
They thought they were ready for anything.  
  
Giles pulled the van into the driveway.  
  
"Giles, let's get the bags later. I want to get  
started on figuring out how to fix John and find their  
girl."  
  
"You're right, Buffy. I could use a little rest  
after that drive."  
  
She looked at him. What was bugging him?  
  
They climbed the step to the front door, only to find  
it opening. Xander stepped out.  
  
"Hey, guys. Um, you might want to-"  
  
Buffy pushed past him. "In a little bit Xander, ok?   
We have some stuff to do."  
  
Laura was right behind Buffy, with Willow, Giles, and  
Xander not a second behind.  
  
They all stopped. All of them, except Xander, when  
they heard her.  
  
"Hey, strangers! Wow! You look just like your  
daughter." The woman stood up and looked at Laura again.   
"Yep, spitting image." She turned to Buffy. "Glad to see  
me?"  
  
Buffy turned away and headed for the stairs, not  
realizeng that Faith had mentioned Marika.   
  
"I'm going to take a nap before I try to absorb  
anymore of this crap today, Faith."  
  
Four seconds later, the sound of the door slamming  
shook the whole house. 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 5/7  
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based on an idea by Aristide.  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that  
these characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to Lord Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns,Bev, and MeB for catching  
the little oopses...  
____________________________________  
  
  
Buffy ignored the knock on her door, knowing that  
Willow would come in regardless of whether she was  
invited. When the knock persisted, Buffy got up and  
opened the door.   
  
"Hey, B, we need to talk."  
  
"Faith. I really meant what I said down there. I  
need a nap. I'm just not ready for a bunch of your crap."  
  
Faith sighed. Closing the door behind her, she  
brushed her hair out of her face. When Buffy made a quick  
step towards her, Faith flinched a bit.  
  
Buffy didn't miss the reaction. Faith flinch?   
  
Faith sat on the bed and looked up at Buffy.   
"Please. We need to talk."  
  
"About what? That you tried to steal Angel? How  
about the fact that you slept with Riley? Oh, that's  
right, you were ME when you did it! Here's a crazy idea -  
let's talk about the fact that I'm stuck here in this hell  
hole, that I can't take my sister out of here, because you  
screwed up your life so bad that you can't slay. I'm  
stuck here covering for you. No. Wait. I know what we  
can talk about. The only other man I've ever loved left  
me and ran off to Los Angeles. I'm here being the good  
and loyal slayer while you're in prison, and still you  
manage to see more of him than I do. Stop me anytime."  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't know what else I can say or do.   
I know there really isn't anything I CAN do, but I had to  
say it. I AM sorry. I'll leave first thing in the  
morning, but I was hoping we could work things out."  
  
Buffy spun on her heel and looked at Faith. "Why?"  
  
Faith was quiet for a moment. "Buffy," Faith said in  
a whisper, not using the familiar nickname she gave her   
fellow slayer, "I wasn't a good person. I'm not a good  
person. All my life, all I was taught was that I'm not a  
good person, that I'm good for nothing. It wasn't until I  
came here, met you- your family- that I thought maybe-  
just maybe- there was some good in me.   
  
"Yeah, I tried to take Angel, and everything else. I  
wanted your life. Your mom treated me like her own  
daughter. I'm sorry about your mom, B. I cried when I  
heard. I wanted to be at the funeral, if for nothing else  
than to thank her for the way she treated me. My own mom  
never treated me that way! Can you blame me for wanting  
your life? I was a class-A bitch. I really thought my  
life was going to be different. That was before...it  
happened."  
  
Buffy looked at her, the question on her face.  
  
"Come on, B, I killed a man - a human being. Once I  
did that, I realized that everything everyone ever said  
was true, that I really was the bad seed. That's why I  
went to Wilkins. I've hated myself every since. You try  
to live with that before you judge me, Buffy. That's all  
I ask. We don't have to be friends, but please, don't  
hate me until you've lived with what I have to live with.  
Live with hating yourself." Faith paused. "I do.  
  
"Faith..."  
  
"No, Buffy," Faith interrrupted, "like I said, I'm  
outta here, as of tomorrow."  
  
Faith stood up. As she reached the door, hand on the  
knob to open it, she turned back to Buffy. "Except for  
Angel, you were the only true friend I ever had. That's  
what makes what I did so hard for me to live with. I'm  
sorry."  
  
She left the room closing the door behind her.  
Buffy watched her former friend leave. She knew she  
should stop her. She knew it. She didn't do it, though.   
Faith was wrong about one thing. Buffy had hated herself.  
When she looked at it that way, she could almost  
understand what Faith meant. She just didn't know what  
was wrong with her the last few days. Since finding out  
that a pregnancy finding out pregnancy could be her ticket  
out of her insane life, she'd been on edge. She lay down  
on her bed, telling herself she'd already decided that she  
wasn't the kind of person who would have a kid just to  
salvage her train wreck life. So, why was it affecting her  
like this? She closed her eyes. This isn't right. She knew  
why, but she didn't want to deal with it- she hadn't  
thought about it in years."  
  
Yes, she had. She thought about it everyday.  
  
The Slayer didn't know how long she'd slept when she  
felt Giles shaking her awake.  
  
"Buffy? Come on, Buffy, wake up. You need to stop  
Faith from leaving."  
  
She rolled over and opened her eyes. "Hmm? What  
time is it?"  
  
"It's after seven already. Buffy! Wake up! Faith's  
on her way out. You need to hear what she has-has to say.  
It's important."  
  
"I heard it all last night. Now, let me go back to  
sleep."  
  
Rupert Giles leaned down and, risking his own safety,  
pulled the blanket off of the Slayer. Adding insult to  
injury, he pushed her out of her bed. Naturally, she was  
off the floor in a second, in a fighting stance.  
  
"Oh, get off of it, Buffy! After you've stopped  
Faith from leaving, you and I are going to have that  
talk."  
  
"I guess you didn't hear me. I heard it all last  
night. FYI - I don't want to have a talk with you right  
now, either."  
  
"FYI? Oh, yes, FYI. Well, FYI, I don't think you  
heard what Faith came here to say. She saw Laura's  
daughter. It would seem - it would seem that Marika  
visited Faith in prison. As far as you and I having a  
talk, we WILL have one before the end of the morning -  
before lunch. Like it or not, we will talk. Don't try to  
argue with me, Buffy! Take the fighting stance or try -  
try to avoid me, but I can, and I will, use magic to hold  
you in place if I have to."  
  
Without another word, he walked out of the room,  
leaving the door open.  
  
Buffy growled and threw a pillow at the door, hoping  
to shut it, but missed - the pillow landing in the hall.   
There was something seriously wrong with her. Maybe  
talking was what she needed, but she didn't know if she  
COULD talk about it. She had to go stop Faith from  
leaving before she did anything else. Dressing quickly,  
she ran down the stairs.  
  
Faith was stepping outside just as Buffy reached her.  
  
"Faith, wait."  
  
The girl turned. "Yeah?"  
  
"Giles says I should listen to you."  
  
Uncharacteristically, Faith sighed. She went back  
into the house and sat down. Buffy sat across from her,  
much like when Laura had told her story for the first  
time.   
  
"About a three weeks ago, one of the guards told me I  
had a visitor. I figured it was Angel, since he's the  
only one who ever comes to see me.   
  
"He threw me for a loop when he said it was my  
sister. I could only assume it was you trying to see me.   
It wasn't you. It was some girl I'd never seen before. I  
wasn't going to listen to her until she mentioned the  
slayer.   
  
"She told me this story about how her mother used to  
be a slayer and was still alive. She told me she wanted  
to be a slayer and wanted to know how to start training.   
The reason she was there to see me, though, was because  
she wanted to find the Council, B. She told me her  
dad was missing and that she thought the Council had  
something to do with it.   
  
"I told her to forget it, to go back to her mother.   
I tried to tell her the Council was bad news. She acted  
like she was going to give up and do what I said- go home.  
  
"I really didn't think much about it until the old  
man came to see me."  
  
Buffy interrupted. "Old man?"  
  
"Travers. He told me he was arranging for me to get  
out because he had something he needed done and he  
couldn't trust YOU to do it. I meant what I said last  
night, B. I'm changed. I'm not going to let anyone turn  
me back into what I was. Of course, the old man doesn't  
know that. Well, he didn't. Anyway, he wanted me to find  
out who took the girl's dad and to find him before you  
did. He seemed surprised about the girl. Apparently,  
they didn't know about Laura here. She was a secret until  
Laura's daughter came to see me.   
  
"He blew it, B. I didn't know that the Council was  
keeping track of my visitors. I mean, recording my  
conversations. He gave it away by mentioning what the  
girl told me. That's when I figured out that the old man  
and his crew didn't plan to ever let me go.  
  
"I kept my mouth shut and eyes open. Sure enough,  
they got me out. I've been pardoned. I guess if they can  
do that, they can get me back in, but I'll worry about  
that later.  
  
"So, I lost the guy they had following me and came  
straight here. I wasn't about to do anything for them.   
That's when you guys got back from Nevada."  
  
Buffy thought about it. She turned to Giles. "Why  
would they want John? Why was it important enough to  
spring Faith from prison to work for them?."  
  
Faith stood up and headed for the door. "Well, I've  
done my part, I guess. I'm out of here."  
  
Buffy reached out and grabbed Faith by the arm. "No.  
I mean, I have a lot of problems with what you did to me,  
to my friends, but you're right. You deserve a chance."  
  
"Why? What's different from last night to change  
your mind?"  
  
"I've had some time to think, I guess. The fact  
that you turned yourself in and haven't tried to get out  
has a lot to do with it. You were right. You had a lot  
to deal with. Don't get me wrong, everyone's responsible  
for their own actions, but there were a lot of factors in  
your decisions.  
  
"I'm not saying I'm ready to trust you with my life,  
but I'm ready to give you a chance. That's all I can  
offer right now. That and a place to stay. Besides, I'll  
probably need some help kicking ass before this whole  
thing is over with."  
  
Faith didn't say anything for a few seconds. When  
she spoke, there were tears in her eyes. "Are you sure?   
I can't promise anything. I mean, I can promise that I'm  
sorry, and that I'm not going to turn on you again. I'm  
still me though, B. The only thing that's changed is the  
way I look at things."  
  
"That's cool. It won't be easy, but it's worth a  
shot." In the back of her mind, Buffy thought that maybe  
if Faith was changed and in Sunnydale for good, then maybe  
- just maybe - Buffy could finally get out of here.  
  
Giles cleared his throat and stood up. "Buffy, I  
think it's time we had that talk now."  
  
Buffy shook her head and went outside. The Watcher  
followed, closing the door behind him.  
  
"I want to know what's the matter with you, Buffy.   
Why are you so edgy lately? Don't deny it. Every since  
Laura showed up, you're snapping at everyone."  
  
Buffy tried to figure out how to tell him. She  
hadn't even told Willow. No one knew. It wasn't  
something she'd ever been able to talk about. It had  
happened before she came to Sunnydale. If it hadn't  
happened, she might never have made it to this damned  
town. She knew she would have to deal with it. She'd  
managed to put it off for more than ten years. For so  
many years, she'd kept it bottled up. She was afraid that  
if she talked about it now, she'd lose control.  
  
**********************************  
  
1996 - Somewhere in the middle of America  
  
"Buffy? You okay, babe?"  
  
"I-I don't think so. I thi-" Before she could  
finish, another sharp pain coursed through her body. She  
was a slayer, it shouldn't be such a crippling pain.  
  
The young man put his arm around her. "I'm getting  
you to the hospital right now. Stop fighting me, damn it!  
We're going."  
  
She hurt too much to argue. She knew what was  
happening. She'd known her secret for a few weeks. She  
was going to tell him tomorrow. Now, she feared, it was  
too late.  
  
********************************  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
Giles voice snapped her back to the present day.  
  
"I'm ok. Giles, don't hate me. Please, don't hate  
me."  
  
"Hate you? Me? Buffy, what is it?"  
  
"I never told anyone. I guess you should have been  
told, but I didn't think it was important. He's never  
coming back. Why should he?"  
  
Giles' mind was spinning. She hadn't told him  
anything, yet already he knew she had some dark secret and  
there was a man whose return she either yearned for or  
feared.   
  
"When I left Hemery, before I came here, I gave up  
slaying."  
  
"I know. There was no activity after the school  
burned. That's when the Hellmouth started opening."  
  
"No. I mean after the school burned, before I came  
here. I quit. I ran. I didn't think the Council could  
find me. Hell, I didn't even really know about the  
Council back then. I had a boyfriend. We left. I ran  
away. I got pregnant." That's when she started to cry.  
  
Giles wrapped his arms around the girl he had come to  
think of as his daughter. Pregnant? That would certainly  
explain why all of this was affecting her so.  
  
A few minutes later, Buffy composed herself. That's  
why this is so hard. I lost the baby. I miscarried. I  
was only a few weeks along, but I think it was the stress  
of running that brought it on. I've always thought that.   
If I had known that I could have the baby and stop being a  
slayer, I wouldn't have worried so much. I swear, Giles,  
if this thing is true, I'm going to make sure all the  
slayers after me know about it."  
  
"Buffy, can I ask you who the father was? I've  
always had the impression that Angel was your first love-  
your first...well, um, your first. With your feelings for   
him, I never got the sense that you'd ever loved anyone  
before. DID you you love this fellow?"  
  
"Love him? I adored him! He was everything to me.   
He loved me, in spite of what I was."  
  
"Where is he, where did he go?"  
  
"I don't know. When I lost the baby, I pushed him  
away. I told him to forget me, that I never wanted to  
hear from him again."  
  
***************************  
  
1992 - Somewhere in the middle of America  
  
"You don't mean it, Buffy. If I go, you'll want me  
back tomorrow. When you do, you won't find me because I'm  
going to do exactly what you ask. I'll disappear."  
  
"Don't tell me what I mean! This never would have  
happened if I hadn't run off with you!"  
  
"You can't blame-"  
  
"I DO! I do blame you! I had a duty, and I ran from  
it. Ran with you! I don't want to see you anymore. Get  
out!"  
  
He stood by the door. "Please, Buffy, I love you. I  
can't just leave you here."  
  
"Go! Just go! I'll get home by myself. You know  
what I can do. If you don't go, I'll make you go."  
  
He opened the door. He looked back at Buffy, crying  
now, begging. "Please. You're my life. How can I go?   
What'll I do? I can't live without you."  
  
She'd gone to him, then. She reached out and touched  
his cheek, his hair. "Go. Don't look for me. You don't  
exist anymore. We were a story in a book, and it's over.   
THE END. If you come for me, I won't know who you are. I  
want you to go. When that door closes, you never existed.  
I mean it. Go. I can't do this anymore."  
  
He tried to return the touch, to feel her hair, but  
she pulled back from him. "I'll always love you, Buffy.   
I swear it. I'll never love anyone else again." He  
walked out and closed the door. She could hear the sobs  
through the door. That was all it took. Listening to his  
footsteps receding, she fell to the floor and cried  
herself to sleep.  
  
**********************************  
  
"Did he ever come looking for you? Oh, Dear Lord,  
it was Ford, wasn't it? The young man that wanted to be a  
vampire?"  
  
Buffy laughed. "No, Giles. Ford really was my  
friend. A good friend. You don't know who he was. I  
really don't want to remember him. I've tried so hard to  
forget him. I think that's why I gave myself so  
completely to Angel.  
  
He pulled her in close. "It's alright, Buffy. You  
were young. You didn't do anything wrong. No one can  
blame you for running. We'll get to the bottom of this  
mess. When-when it's over, no future slayer will go  
through it again. If this tale is true, it will be made  
known to all Watchers, I promise you that."  
  
When Buffy recomposed herself, Giles mentioned  
something that had been bothering him.   
  
"If it's true that a pregnant slayer loses her call,  
that a new slayer is called, I wonder what happened when  
you became pregnant?"  
  
The Slayer was about to tell him what she thought,  
when they were interrupted by a soft cry. They looked up  
to find a young girl, no older than Dawn, walking up the  
path to the house. Buffy turned her head just soon enough  
to see Laura fly through the door and throw her arms  
around the girl.  
  
"Marika! Oh, God, where have you been? Baby, what's  
wrong? What happened?"  
  
The girl looked at her mother. "I wanted to find the  
Slayer. I went to the prison looking for that one and she  
told me to go home, to forget about trying to find Dad. I  
almost gave up, but I came here instead, thinking I'd ask  
the dead slayer's friends to help me. But...she's not  
dead. I don't understand."  
  
A car drove by as she finished speaking. She watched  
it pass, then pointed at it.  
  
"That's the fourth time I've seen that guy. I think  
he's following me."  
  
"Bastards!"  
  
Everyone turned and saw Faith standing in the door,  
Willow directly behind her.  
  
"It's the Council! It has to be!" 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 6/7  
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based on an idea by Aristide.  
  
E-mail: memarkw@yahoo.com  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that  
these characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to a man named Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns and Bev for catching the  
little oopses...  
  
___________________________________________  
  
  
With the sun going down, the small bunch of people  
went back into the house. Faith was still going on about  
"the damned Council." While Willow went into the kitchen  
to start dinner for everyone, Laura demanded Marika  
explain her absence.  
  
"Young lady, where in the world have you been?"  
  
"Around."  
  
"Marika! Stop playing games with me. You owe me an  
explanation! What do you think you were doing running off  
like that?"  
  
"Listen, Mom, if you want me to talk, you have to  
shut up. I know how you are. You can't listen without  
interrupting."  
  
Buffy cleared her throat accusatorily and looked at  
Laura, remembering a similar conversation when the two  
first met.  
  
Receiving her mother's promise not to interrupt,  
Marika told her story.  
  
"Well, after you told me about slaying, and I felt  
this... whatever it is in me, I wanted to find Dad. You  
kind of freaked out." She held up her right hand to stop  
her mother from protesting. "You kind of freaked out.   
Deny it or not, it's true. It was like you had no  
intention of finding him. You were more concerned with  
finding another slayer to help, to protect me, all because  
some dead guy told you to.  
  
"I wasn't sure where to start, but I thought if I  
left, that it might light a fire under your ass-" she  
shrunk back from Laura's glare, "ok, your butt, you might  
take some action. I wanted to find this council you told  
me about. I came back here, thinking one of her-" she  
pointed at Buffy- "friends might help, but there wasn't  
anyone here. I did what you did. I read the papers at  
the library. I found out about Faith. Not much. I found  
out that she was connected to Buffy, that she got in  
trouble, and that she was in prison. So, I went to see  
her. She probably told you that already.   
  
"She told me to go home - which I did- but when I got  
there, you were gone. I tried to figure out where you  
might have gone, but then I decided that I could find Dad  
on my own. I did. Sort of. He was in a hospital close  
to where we were living, but he's gone now. Someone took  
him. I didn't want to ask for help because I was afraid  
they would treat me like a runaway. In the end, I figured  
I'd come back here again. There had to be SOMEONE that  
could help. Here I am."  
  
Laura put her arm around her daughter. "First of  
all, you were very wrong to leave. I was scared to death!  
Don't you know I'd die if anything happened to you?   
Second, you're grounded."  
  
"Mom!"  
  
"No! I mean it! You can try to run off again, but  
I'll be right behind you." She stopped Marika from  
interrupting, just as her daughter had done to her, "Ah!   
I mean it. And we found your dad. He's here."  
  
A squeal of delight escaped from the girl. "Where?   
I want to see him!" She jumped up. "Dad?" She started  
to look in the adjoining rooms. "Dad?"  
  
Buffy, Faith, and Giles watched as Laura took her  
daughter by the arm. "Honey, he's upstairs. Wait. He's  
sick."  
  
"Sick? How? He's going to be ok, isn't he?"  
  
"Something's happened to his memory. The doctors  
don't know what's wrong with him, but he won't talk,  
except to tell us his name. Physically, he's fine.   
Mentally...well, we just don't know."  
  
"I want to see him." The teen pulled away from her  
mother and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.   
  
She found him sitting up in bed. She ran to him,  
throwing her arms around him. When he didn't return the  
hug, she pulled away to look at him.  
  
He looked back at her. "I'm John."  
  
"Dad? I know your name. What's wrong?"  
  
He gave her a blank look. "I'm John."  
  
Marika started crying then. "Daddy..." She put her  
arms around him. "It'll be alright, Daddy, it will. I  
promise. Mom can fix it. We'll be ok."  
  
"I'm John."  
  
"I know, Daddy, I know. You're John."  
  
When she said it, he looked in her eyes and smiled at  
her. "I'm John," he said again and laughed.  
  
Eventually, the lost man fell asleep, his daughter  
still holding him, having already fallen asleep herself.  
  
Downstairs, the group was growing. Xander had  
arrived just moments earlier. It took a few minutes to  
fill them in.  
  
"Hey! Maybe Laura can make a wish. I'll call Giles  
house and talk to Anya. Maybe she can grant a wish to  
restore what's-his-name."  
  
"It's John, not what's-his-name, and that won't work.  
She can only grant vengeance wishes. This isn't a case  
of John wronging Laura."  
  
"Well, it was an idea."  
  
Willow sighed. "The spaghetti should be ready. We  
can talk about this when we're done eating. Let's take a  
break. It might be easier to think if we do. Who wants  
garlic salt on their bread?"  
  
An hour or so later, a unanimous decision was made-  
no one had a clue what to do next. They knew they needed  
to find whoever was responsible for forcing the Slith on  
John, but no idea how to go about it. The Slith they had  
spoken to didn't know anything about the man.  
  
Willow's idea to take a break stretched to include  
the rest of the evening. Sleeping on it might prove to  
offer a new solution. As Laura and Giles headed upstairs,  
Xander, Willow, Faith, and Buffy went into the kitchen.  
  
Sitting around the table, they discussed what little  
they knew.  
  
"Guys, this really sucks. If Giles can't figure this  
out, I don't see that we'll ever be able to help them."  
  
Faith leaned forward, resting her elbows on the  
table. "You know what? You guys aren't quitters. Willow  
told me about the rampage she went on, and how Xander  
stopped her. He didn't quit. B, you never give up. So,  
why now? I say we find the council hang out and kick some  
ass."  
  
Buffy let a smile cross her lips. Faith wanted to  
beat the bad guys. "I didn't say we were giving up, I  
said I don't know how we're going to help them."  
  
"Will, what about the coven that helped you take  
control of your power? Maybe they can help?"  
  
The witch sighed. "No. I tried. I tried reaching  
John with a mind technique I learned. When it didn't  
work, I called Sarlan - she's part of the coven - and she  
said they couldn't sense anything. They didn't have any  
thing for us to go on."  
  
Buffy looked at Willow with a question on her lips,  
but Faith asked it first. "How could they sense anything  
from England?"  
  
Again, Willow sighed. It's not easy to explain.   
Have you ever seen Start Trek?"  
  
Faith and Buffy both snorted.   
  
Xander looked offended by the snort.  
  
Willow continued. "Mr. Spock was able to do this  
thing called a mind meld. He would put his hands on a  
persons head and chant some mantra and be able to explore  
their mind. With all the help and power the coven has  
given me, we've formed some sort of mental bond. I can  
think about something and they will know it. If I want  
them to. It's controllable. It's not like we can read  
minds or anything, just sense what someone is feeling."  
  
The two slayers and Xander tried to look like they  
really understood it, but ended up looking more confused.  
  
"Hey!" Buffy had a revelation. "You did that when  
we were on the porch, when Laura got here. You knew I was  
thinking about Tara and what she would think if she was  
here! You can sense me?"  
  
Her friend blushed a bit. "Not like I can with the  
coven. But yes, I can sense you. And Xander. Dawn and  
Giles. Anya. Before Spike left again, I could sense him,  
too."  
  
Xander was flattered. "Wow! We share a link. I  
mean, a bond. Well, besides the end of the world thing,  
the Ascension, the Master, that singing demon, the midget  
demon, and never mind, I'll just go babble in the corner."  
  
Before he could actually leave his chair to go to the  
corner, the kitchen door burst in. Several demons made  
their way in before Willow was able to block the entrance.  
"Hold!"  
  
She wanted to hold the demons who had already made  
their way in, but the slayers were already on top of it,  
and she was afraid she might affect one of them. Or  
Xander, who was busy trying to hit demons over the head  
with a frying pan. She wanted to laugh, in spite of their  
situation. Xander was a man. A real man. A good looking  
man. He'd saved everyone from one apocalypse or another   
more times that she wanted to count, and still didn't get  
the credit he deserved. Just when you were ready to take  
him seriously, he did something like chasing demons around  
a kitchen with a frying pan - screaming like a girl.  
  
Giles, Laura, and her daughter ran into the kitchen.   
Laura's instincts kicked in, as did Marika's. Giles was  
torn. He wanted to help the woman and...good lord! Was  
that a frying pan in Xander's hand?! Shaking his head, as  
though trying to clear an illusion, he stepped next to  
Willow. As strong as she was, she was having trouble  
keeping up her spell. Several of the demons outside were  
casting counter-spells, trying to bring down the invisible  
wall Willow was holding up. He threw up his hands and  
shouted "Hold!', reinforcing his friend's efforts.  
  
When the demons realized that the number of people  
they were fighting had just doubled, they concentrated  
their efforts on getting near the teen who had entered the  
room. Faith, seeing where the attention was focused,  
moved her way between a nasty looking creature and Marika.  
Unfortunately, she reached her spot just as a tentacle of  
sorts lashed out and it managed to smack her across the  
face, leaving a thin laceration.  
  
Apparently, the enemy recognized Buffy as Sunnydale's  
chief protector, and increased their efforts in that  
direction, while at the same time, trying to get to  
Marika. Laura suddenly realized what was happening. They  
were trying to get to her daughter. For whatever reason,  
this was what this whole mess was about. Someone wanted  
Marika! She turned to her daughter and yelled at her, at  
all of them.  
  
"They think Marika is special! They don't realize I  
am the true slayer, that she's not one! Protect me! It's  
me they need because I'm the Slayer!"  
  
All action stopped. The look of bewilderment on her  
friend's faces was quickly concealed by all but one.   
Marika knew that her mother was offering herself up as a  
decoy.  
  
"Mom! No!"  
  
Laura was able to convince the creatures that she was  
trying to avoid them, while in all actuality she was  
maneuvering herself to be taken by them. As they closed  
in on her, no one heard Willow say a simple word under her  
breath. "Track."  
  
Giles and Willow released their hold spell and  
restrained Marika. Faith crossed the room to see to  
Xander, who had been hit in the head one of the invaders  
at the last moment. Buffy looked at them, then at Willow  
and Giles.  
  
"What the hell was that?"  
  
Giles reached up to remove his glasses, then stopped.  
He realized he was more angry then anything else right  
now, and he didn't have time to polish his bleeding  
glasses. "They wanted Marika. Someone knows who she is  
and they want her. I believe Laura knew that. She  
offered herself up, indeed, as any mother would do."  
  
"What do we do now?"  
  
Marika used her head to hit Giles in the chest. She  
obviously had some strength, as she was able to knock the  
wind out of him. Before Willow could double her grip,  
Marika was out the door.  
  
Buffy was right behind her.  
  
The girl was able to run almost a block and a half  
before Buffy caught up to her. The slayer grabbed the  
runaway by the arm and spun her around.  
  
"Leave me alone! They already ruined my dad and I'm  
not going to let them do it to her too! Let me go."  
  
Buffy struggled with the girl, trying to calm her  
down.  
  
Marika yanked free. "Leave me alone, you stupid  
bitch!"  
  
Without thinking, Buffy slapped the hysterical teen.  
  
"Stop it! Your mother an take care of herself. She  
won't be able to do that, or to escape, if she's worrying  
about you!"  
  
Marika held her cheek. "I don't like you very much.   
I wasn't sure about you from the start. I don't know why  
my mom put her trust in some dead guy, why she had to come  
to you!"  
  
Buffy returned the ice cold stare. "I don't like you  
very much either. I got rid of one bratty grown-up  
wanna-be this summer and I don't need to deal with another  
one. I didn't ask for this. You want to find your mom?   
Go ahead."  
  
The girl looked at Buffy with suspicion. She started  
to walk past Buffy when the Slayer stopped her with her  
next words.  
  
"I'm not taking care of your dad, you know? You go  
and get yourself caught, or killed even. Go ahead. He's  
not my concern. I've been in a mental hospital. Kind of.  
It wasn't fun. It was a nightmare. Literally. Guess  
what? Leave him with me and that's where he's going."   
She turned, heading back to her house.  
  
Marika didn't follow right away. "You really are a  
bitch, aren't you?"  
  
"I like to think so. Any monster or big bad in this  
town'll tell you the same thing. See ya whenever."  
  
Buffy was climbing the step to her house when Marika  
stepped up behind her.  
  
"I can't lose my mom. Don't you understand that?   
She's all I have anymore. She doesn't want me to be a  
slayer, I know that. It's not something I can say no to.   
She knows that. I don't know what the hell to do. My dad  
needs me, but she does too. What am I supposed to do?"  
  
"You sure do cuss a lot."  
  
"What?"  
  
Buffy turned around and smiled at the troubled kid.   
"You sure do cuss a lot. Swear. Say bad words."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I saw you trying to fight in there. With an  
attitude like that, you'll fit into slaying easy. I have  
to tell you, though, the same attitude'll get you killed  
your first week."  
  
"You know about dying, huh?"  
  
"You can say that. I died my first month here.   
Maybe it was the first year. Or week. Whatever. Because  
of my attitude. The same attitude you have now. Listen.   
I didn't want this job. You're nuts to want it. I think  
if you'll listen and try to follow our advice, you'll do  
just fine."  
  
"You think I can be the Slayer?"  
  
"It doesn't matter what I think. If you're chosen,  
you're chosen. Nothing anyone can do about it. Like it  
or not. If they're smart, they'll fight with you instead  
of against you."  
  
"Ok. You aren't such a bitch."  
  
Buffy put her arm around Marika's shoulders. "Shhhh,  
someone might hear you."  
  
The younger girl actually managed a laugh as they  
went back into the house.  
  
Across the street, a glowing pair of emerald green  
eyes watched until the door closed behind them. 


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The Changing of the Guard Series: A Way Out 7/7  
  
Author: Written by memarkw, based on an idea by Aristide.  
  
Spoilers: Some of the "past events" take place anytime  
during the series, or may be happening in Season 7  
according to entertainment articles.  
  
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and think that  
these characters are my own creation, you don't belong  
here...it's all thanks to a man named Joss Whedon.  
  
Rating: Mostly PG, although there are 3 or 4 swear words,  
including one F-word, scattered about.  
  
Special thanks to E James Burns,Bev, and MeB for catching  
the little oopses...  
__________________________________________  
  
Laura struggled as the creatures dragged her into the  
building. She managed to break the hold of one,  
immediately using her free hand to inflict serious damage  
to the unfortunate demon. Sadly, the fallen captor was  
instantly replaced with another, who held tighter than his  
predecessor. The former slayer knew she had to get free,  
but how to do it seemed to be a problem. Every time she  
managed to get rid of one of these...things, another was  
in its' place.  
  
-----------------  
  
In Buffy's kitchen, Willow had a map spread open on  
the table. Her eyes were closed, her hands hovering over  
the map palms down. Just as she had found the Slith in  
Nevada, she was able to produce similar results this time.  
A spoon on the table slid across the map and stood on  
end.   
  
"There! She's somewhere near the Bronze. I'll be  
able to sense her better when we get there."  
  
Marika walked came in the room. "Dad's out. Those  
drugs the doctors sent with him really do the trick.   
He'll be asleep for hours."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Buffy asked.  
  
The group - Buffy, Willow, Faith, Marika, Giles, and  
Xander - ran out the door.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Just as Laura was ready to give up her fight, the  
demons let go. She nearly lost her balance, but caught  
herself at the last instant. She contemplated escape when  
a voice got her attention.  
  
"Well, I was hoping for the next slayer, but her  
mother will do. I wasn't ready for you, but it's just as  
well. I can run my experiments on you now, rather than  
later."  
  
Laura didn't recognize the man, but he obviously knew  
who she was. "What do you mean, 'rather than later'?"  
  
The man sighed. "Please do keep up. Any intelligent  
person should have deducted the meaning. I planned to  
take you after I was through with your daughter."  
  
Fighting the instinct to break his neck, she managed  
to hold herself in check. "Bastard!" she hissed through  
clenched teeth. "You won't get her. She's protected."  
  
"Protected? By the same people that protected you?   
The way you protected your husband?"  
  
"My... The Council... You did that?"  
  
He laughed. "Yes, I did that. The Council? Highly  
unlikely. You know, they used to be powerful. Now,  
they're nothing more than a bunch of dottering old fools!   
They could have used the Slayer to control humanity.   
There are a few young ones that still might be reached,  
sitting at their table, but there isn't much hope. No,  
the Council will be destroyed."  
  
"And you're going to destroy them by kidnapping all  
the slayers?"  
  
Another laugh from the man in front of her. "No, my  
dear. I want the slayers so that I can create my own."  
  
"Wha... Create your own? Who the hell do you think  
you are? Some kind of god?"  
  
"If only it was that simple. No, I plan to find out  
what makes a slayer. I believe it's genetic. Not genetic  
in the sense that it runs in the family, but rather that there is a  
gene that determines a slayer. The fact that there are so  
many of you alive backs up my theory. Come to think of  
it, it might be better that I did get you first. I can  
run my tests on you and take the girl when I'm done. That  
way, I can kill you while I have her and watch the change  
in her, see if death is the real trigger for the Slayer genome.  
  
I'm thinking that it's not necessarily a slayer's  
death that calls the next slayer, though. It's my intent  
to find out just what it takes, then I shall create a  
multitude of slayers to to my will."  
  
"You're nuts! Shit...you're not nuts, you're  
freaking psycho!"  
  
"You say tom-A-to, I say tom-AH-to." He gestured to the  
creatures behind Laura. "Lock her away."  
  
Laura redoubled her struggles with her captors- but she  
fought a hopeless battle.  
---------------------------  
  
Standing outside an empty warehouse, Faith offered  
her opinion. "I say we just go in kicking ass and not  
bothering with the names."  
  
"I'd rather think of something a little  
less...chaotic, if you don't mind."  
  
The other five looked at Giles.  
  
"Oh, good Lord - how many times do you have to lose  
the, um, 'big bad' before you get it? You can't just run  
in fighting. We need to split up. Some of us can look  
for whoever it is responsible for this and the others can  
free Laura. Really, I'm surprised you haven't realized  
this after all these years."  
  
The others tried to look like they weren't a little  
embarrassed, but didn't succeed. They discussed what  
should be done. Giles, Buffy, and Willow found a  
different entrance and waited. When they heard Faith kick  
open a door, the three of them sneaked in. The plan was  
that hopefully Faith, Xander, and Marika could create  
enough of a distraction that Buffy and friends could sneak  
up on whoever without being noticed.  
  
Faith, having kicked open the door with little  
effort, wasn't surprised to find three or four monsters  
coming at her. She was ready for them. She was able to  
take one out right away, knocking his feet out from under  
him with a sweeping leg move. Throwing a fast fist  
towards the throat of another, she ducked a bit, causing  
the thing behind her to lose its' balance. As soon as the  
fist made contact, it was drawn back and yanking the one  
who had just gone off-balance over her shoulder. She  
didn't see the first creature get up from off the floor.   
It grabbed her from behind. Before she could fight it,  
she heard a bone crunching snap. The grip was released.   
She turned to see the creature in Marika's arms. The girl  
had broken the creatures neck easily.   
  
Xander, having managed to decapitate one of the  
creatures, joined them and dusted off his shirt. "Well,  
ladies, shall we?" he asked, motioning for them to  
continue farther into the building.  
  
Not two minutes passed before they were attacked  
again. While they were fighting the guards, Giles, Buffy,  
and Willow had managed to make it inside the building  
without being detected.  
  
Back towards the front of the warehouse, Xander used  
a broken board to run through one of the attackers. The  
thing looked down as the board emerged from where two  
hearts had been previously beating. Before it realized  
what had happened, it was dead.  
  
Marika and Faith stood back to back.  
  
"When you feel me turning, you turn. Feel it with  
the muscles in your back! Got it?" Faith demanded.  
  
"Yeah, duck!" Both girls ducked as a nasty looking  
weapon with a rusty blade came at them. It passed over  
there heads a millisecond before the women were upright  
again. A chain had appeared in Faith's hand - from where,  
she had no idea. She raised her arm and started swinging  
the steel in a circle above their heads. When one of the  
creatures dared step closer, Xander yelled at it. When it  
hesitated, looking to see what Xander was doing, Faith  
moved her arm in a snapping motion, wrapping the chain  
around the neck of the fool being. However, instead of  
disabling the monster, it reached up and grabbed the  
chain. It tugged, causing Faith to lose her step,  
breaking the pattern that she and Marika had established.   
In a moment, the three humans were one-on-one against  
their foe again.  
  
Years of experience taught Xander to trust his  
instinct in these situations. He wanted to step back from  
the thing that was advancing on him, but something told  
him that he would be in an even worse spot if he did.   
When the creature reached out for him, Xander grabbed it  
by its' wrist. Dropping to one knee and turning his  
torso, he pulled hard on the arm of the thing. As it got  
within reach, he forced his head against its' stomach and  
started to stand. The motion carried the enemy over  
Xander's hip, colliding the monster with another that was  
advancing from the rear.  
  
Fighting for her life, Marika knew she should be  
frightened. She wasn't. Instead, there was an  
exhilaration that ran through her. The things they were  
fighting seemed to multiply. No sooner did she kill one,  
than another was in its' place. She found herself looking  
forward to the next advancement. Grabbing an arm of one  
of the beings, she twisted it up behind its' back, smiling  
when she heard the satisfying crunch of its' shoulder  
separating.  
  
In another part of the building, Willow was  
concentrating. She knew they were close to Laura, but  
there was another sense. Someone she knew was in this  
building. That was causing her to divide her attention  
between Laura and the other person. She was puzzled.  
  
"What is it?" Buffy asked, concerned by the look on  
her friend's face.  
  
"Giles? Someone's here. Someone we know. But...  
But they aren't in trouble. I think whoever it is is the  
one who took Laura."  
  
Giles reached up for his glasses, stopping when he  
realized what he was doing. He was determined to break  
the infernal habit. "Yes, well, let's find whoever it is  
first. If we can take them into custody, we should be  
able to put a stop to all of this."  
  
Willow didn't say a word, turning her attention  
inward, tuning out the sense of Laura.  
  
Laura's daughter, in the meantime, was in a corner.   
She had taken such satisfaction in the pain she was  
causing some of these things, that she wasn't paying  
attention to where she was going, not realizing that she  
was being forced backwards.  
  
Xander, on the other hand, did notice her  
predicament. Finishing off the last monster he was  
fighting, he got Faith's attention. Whatever breed of  
creature Faith was fighting, it was resilient. Her blows  
seemed to have no effect. She looked at Xander and  
understood what he was trying to tell her. She doubled  
her efforts, increasing the blows on the creature. It  
faltered, taking a step backwards. The step was what  
Faith was looking for. She threw another volley of blows  
and the creature took another step back. This time, when  
it stepped backwards, Faith stopped punching. She,  
instead, reached out and pushed the creature backwards  
with all her might. Its' momentum carried it backwards.   
It would have taken three or four steps back as a result  
of the push. Might have. Instead,it fell over Xander,  
who had resorted to junior high schenannigans and knelt  
behind it on all fours. The second the monster was on  
its' back, Xander stood up, joining Faith, grabbing its'  
neck - adding it to the number of things that had died of  
a broken neck that night.  
  
They turned, starting for Marika. They stopped  
walking when they saw that she had ended the fight by  
finishing the last of their opponents.  
  
"You're good, sister," Faith said, ready to offer a  
word of advice.  
  
"Yeah, I am. Now let her tell me I'm not going to  
be a slayer."  
  
"Wait a sec. I said you did good. You have a lot to  
learn before you're patrolling on your own. You should  
never have allowed yourself to be backed into a corner."  
  
"Please! I don't need your advice."  
  
Xander stepped between the two. He turned to face  
Marika. "Ok, first of all, watch it. You aren't as hot  
as you think you are. Buffy and Faith are alive because  
they know what they're doing. Well, and Faith's been in  
prison for a number of years. But that's beside the  
point. They've both been in their share of corners and I  
guarantee you they won't get caught there again. Second  
of all, You had no business torturing these things."  
  
"I wasn't-"  
  
"Like hell you weren't! I saw you, little girl! You  
had a chance to kill that thing, but you ripped its' arm  
out and threw him- it aside. Maybe you didn't notice, but  
it got up and attacked me. If you plan to slay, you slay.  
If you plan to be some sort of monster yourself, then  
leave and don't come back!" Xander gave her a look of  
disgust before turning away.  
  
Faith looked at her former sexual conquest. She was  
surprised by his little speech. She was used to him  
cracking jokes to lighten the mood, but he had just set  
the girl straight, and made some good points while he did  
it. He sounded almost like a Watcher. She smiled as he  
said one more thing.  
  
"Faith, make sure she," he gestured with his thumb  
towards Marika, "doesn't get lost. Make sure she stays  
with us. Let's go find Buffy and the others."  
  
Faith motioned for Marika to follow Xander, taking up  
the rear when Marika complied.  
  
A few minutes later, they joined their friends.   
Saving the story of their earlier adventure for a later  
time, they quietly wandered the corridors.   
  
Just as Giles was ready to call it quits, to go  
looking for Laura instead of the mystery person, a door  
opened. They could hear a familiar voice.  
  
"Oh, I will, my dear. I intend to wait. Of course,  
the result will have an ending that differs from the one  
you'd like, but I will wait for your friends to come for  
you."  
  
The group stopped. Giles was about to say the  
person's name when the man turned and faced them.  
  
"Ripper! Good to see you, chap! I thought you'd  
never get here."  
  
"Ethan! What- Why-"  
  
Raine interrupted. "Who, how, when? What order  
would you like those answered?"  
  
Buffy stepped forward. "I don't like you. I never  
did. It's time you were held accountable for everything  
you've done. I may not be able to dust you, but I'm about  
to kick your ass."  
  
Faith laughed. "Let me help, B. This bastard tried  
to grab me once, before I ever came to SunnyD."  
  
Giles laid a hand on Buffy's arm. "Wait. Ethan,  
what are you doing? Are you telling me you've gone bad?   
Not bad, but..."  
  
"Nuts? Insane? That's what the old slayer keeps  
calling me. No, Ripper, I'm as sane as I ever was."  
  
"You do realize that you've gone too far?"  
  
"Too far? Farther than drugging every adult in town?  
Farther than turning every child in town into a monster  
or what not? Now, now Rupert, give me some credit. I've  
always had a purpose. Who'd think a bungling fool like me  
could ever truly be a threat? I had you all fooled. Tell  
me something. Did you know that I even tried to join your  
precious Watcher circle? Your Council said I was an  
incompetent moron."  
  
Xander smirked. "Incompetent. Try Viagra, pal."  
  
Marika groaned. "Incompetent, not impotent, you  
idiot."  
  
"I know that," Xander said, turning red. "You know  
something? I don't like you very much little girl."  
  
"People, people, people. As much as I'd like to  
prolong our reunion, I have things to do. So, if you  
don't mind, I'll take Miss Summers, the tart slayer, and  
the girl."  
  
Up to this point, Willow had remained silent. She  
was concentrating. Something wasn't right. She knew the  
whole thing was bad, but there was something wrong at this  
instant. She spoke her words at the same time that Ethan  
made his move.  
  
Giles' old chum motioned towards Buffy and the other  
girls. He motioned for them to come to him. To their  
horror, they started walking. They each fought it, but  
were compelled to keep moving.  
  
Willow spoke at that second. "Be still."  
  
Faith, Marika, and Buffy froze. Their bodies hurt. A  
force was pulling them towards Ethan Raine while another  
forced held them in place.  
  
Giles made a move towards the man. He stopped short  
when Ethan looked at him, his appearance changing.   
  
Ethan looked down, then back at Giles. His eyes  
glowed an emerald green. "You fool! Call off your witch.  
She can't beat me. None of you can. Don't you see?   
It's all been because of me! If I wished, I could blink  
you all out of existence here and now. Her power is  
childish compared to mine. I WILL have the slayers. The  
rest of you shall die. When I've unlocked the secret of  
the slayers, I'll create an army and bring down the  
Council that you all think run your worlds. Now. Let. Me.  
Have. Them!"  
  
A mist started to rise from the ground where he  
stood, as he started chanting under his breath. Willow  
tried to hold her ground. She realized she was losing the  
battle. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to try a  
different spell, but feared that doing so would release  
her hold on the slayers.   
  
The ground started shaking. The ceiling started to  
crack. Willow was determined to protect her friends at  
all cost. She had almost ended their lives once and she  
would make amends. Pieces of plaster started to fall,  
bouncing off some force field that had gone up around the  
group.   
  
Raine raised his voice and starting speaking in a  
voice that put chills through everyone. "DARME SUPIM  
0LROM DRAME SLAYER DARME!" As he spoke, the field around  
the group started to dissolve. The slayers all started  
inching forward at the same time.  
  
Willow increased her efforts, lowering her voice in  
contrast to that of her adversary. "Still. Hold. Be  
still. Calm. Freeze," she continued chanting, although  
the magic of the other was much stronger. All Willow was  
doing was slowing down the inevitable.  
  
The foundation of the building started quaking.   
Raine's eyes glowed deeper green than they'd ever gone.   
Before long, they started to become transparent. Blood  
began to appear from the pores on his body. He continued  
chanting. A surge of energy gave him the boost he needed.  
He stood to his full height. "DARME SUPIM 0LROM DRAME  
SLAYER DARME!DARME SUPIM 0LROM DRAME SLAYER DARME!"  
  
Giles and Xander both cried out, unaware of the tears  
they were both shedding over what was about to happen.   
Marika screamed. Willow's forces vanished as she  
collapsed to the dusty floor. The three slayers rushed  
towards Raine against there will.  
  
The creature that had masqueraded as Ethan Raine for  
so long laughed maniacally. It stood even taller, tearing  
the skin of the body that had agreed to host it so many  
years ago. "DARME SUPIM 0LROM DRAME SLAYER DARME!DARME  
SUP-"  
  
Suddenly, everything stopped. No quakes, no shakes,  
no plaster, no ceiling cracks, no slayers moving against  
their free will. They all stared at the motionless form  
of the thing that had almost ended their lives, lying on  
the floor.  
  
The sound of a board dropping, clattering on the  
floor was followed by a very disheveled woman stepping out  
of the room that moments before Raine himself had emerged  
from.  
  
"Mom!" Marika cried, running forward, throwing her  
arms around the woman who had just saved them.  
  
"He really pissed me off," Laura told them.  
  
For some reason, Buffy thought that was funny. She  
stared laughing. Giles tried to contain his laughter, and  
it almost escaped him. He stopped when he realized that  
Raine was moving and chanting again. They could feel the  
ground starting to move.  
  
Willow sat up, having come to seconds earlier. She  
quickly took it all in. She pointed at Raine, softly  
speaking. "A man he was, and dust he'll be," her voice  
was rising, "BE NO MORE SAYS LITTLE OLD ME!"  
  
One nanosecond he was there, the next he wasn't.   
Giles stared in wonder at the floor where Ethan had been.   
Xander looked at Willow. "Little old me? Are those the  
new magic words?"  
  
Willow just smiled and shrugged. "He pissed me off,  
too."  
  
Faith moved over to the spot, rubbing it with her  
boot. "Red? Where'd he go? Can he get back?"  
  
Willow sighed. "I got rid of the demon that had him.  
Ethan's somewhere far away. He won't be bothering us  
again for a long time. A very long time.."  
  
Just then, they heard a muffled cry come from  
another room. Hurrying in, they found a very young Slith  
bound and gagged in a corner.  
  
Giles released the child thing, and tried to comfort it.  
While they were discussing taking him back to his home,  
three mature Slith walked around the corner. Soundlessly,  
two of them took the child and left. The third took  
Willow aside and placed it's head against hers. Willow  
smiled. The Slith returned her smile, then followed the  
others from the building.  
  
"What was that about," asked Buffy.  
  
"He gave me John's memories. I can't access them, but  
I can give them back to John."  
  
Laura squealed in delight. "Let's go. I want my  
husband back!"  
  
As they all made their way to the warehouse exit,  
Giles held Willow back. "Willow, I don't know what  
happened here, but I have a feeling your training just  
came in more handy than I ever would have imagined." He  
pulled her into a quick hug. "I'm very proud of you."  
  
Back at the Summer's house, everyone gathered around  
Willow and John. The witch placed her forehead against  
John's, much like the Slith had done to her. She whispered  
some words to John, words that no one else could hear.   
When she was done, John went to sleep.  
  
"Well, that's it. All we can do now is wait for him  
to wake up."  
  
Laura sat on the bed. "I'm going to lay with him and  
wait."  
  
Her daughter sat on the other side. "I want to sit,  
too, ok?"  
  
The Scoobies gave the family some privacy, going back  
downstairs.  
  
Xander said his goodbyes, heading home. Willow asked  
if she could join him.   
  
Left alone, Buffy waited for Giles to finish his  
phone call.  
  
Giles hung up the phone almost an hour later. Buffy  
knew from the look on his face that something was wrong.   
She sat next to him, waiting.  
  
"Buffy, they were wrong. The pregnancy theory is a  
fake."  
  
"A fake? What do you mean?"  
  
"That was Amberly. It would seem Merrick  
fabricated the whole story. The Council found another  
journal. Merrick tells how he tried to free his slayer,  
to get her out of the Council's grasp. He didn't know how  
they would react to the pregnancy. An accident gave him a  
way out. It seems that the idea of a pregnant slayer  
truly was troublesome to the Council of that day. They  
found an electrical demon to kill her. Someone informed  
Merrick of the plan. He watched as Laura died at the  
hands of the demon. He then killed the demon and  
resuscitated Laura. He told the Council that she was dead  
and made arrangements to keep her from being found. He  
didn't have the heart to tell her that she had died, even  
for a moment. When she wanted to know how she could  
possibly give up slaying, he concocted the whole pregnancy  
story."  
  
A startled cry made the Slayer and Watcher turn.   
They saw Laura standing behind them.   
  
"I remember! I was fighting a vamp and was grabbed  
from behind. When I woke up, he told me I was unconscious  
for a few minutes. It wasn't too long after that that he  
forced me into that van with John and chased us away.   
Why? Why would he do that?"  
  
Buffy went to the older woman, putting her arms  
around her for comfort. "Trust me, it was probably better  
that way. I've died twice, remember? It's not easy to  
live with. It's really hard to keep on going when you  
know you've already defeated all this slayer crap. I  
can't tell you how many times I almost let myself get  
killed when I was fighting. All because I wanted some  
peace in my life. I can't imagine trying to deal with  
that and with being pregnant at the same time. I knew  
Merrick. He was a good man. He did what he thought was  
best for you."  
  
"You're right. I'll get over it. I have to. I came  
down to tell you that Ari's waking up."  
  
Giles stood up. "That's good. I'll come up shortly  
and check on him."  
  
When Laura was out of sight, Buffy had a question for  
Giles. "If it's true, if it was all a lie, I'm bothered  
by something. Why didn't the Council find out it was a  
lie sooner? I just don't feel right about this. I don't  
know. Maybe it's because I like the idea that there is a  
way out, that I was almost out when I was-" she paused.  
"When I was pregnant. Maybe it's just wishful thinking."  
  
Giles held out a hand, helping Buffy to her feet. "I  
would guess that that's exactly what it is. You're  
bringing up old feelings over the child you lost. I would  
imagine that it is indeed 'wishful thinking.' Amberly saw  
the journal, the one with the confession. She was quite  
pleased to find that the Council could stop worrying about  
the secret, the pregnancy clause as it were, would be  
found out."  
  
Buffy shrugged. "I guess. Come on, let's go check  
on John."  
  
The Watcher watched her walk away. She had grown so  
much since he first met her. He had done the right thing,  
leaving her and Dawn. She had grown so much. He'd  
learned a lot about her in the last few days. He couldn't  
imagine living with the loss of a child, an unborn child  
at that. That wasn't quite true. He had lived with  
losing a child. Twice. He'd be sure to tell her that he  
loved her before he returned home. Everything would be  
fine. Life was almost good for a change. It was good to  
know that there was such a thing as a happy ending.  
-------------------------------------  
  
On some deserted island, in the middle of some ocean, Ethan  
Raine was calling out for help. He'd awakened, surrounded  
by nonperishable food items, a small hut, and everything else  
he'd need to survive on the island. The only thing he didn't  
have was the knowledge of how he'd ended up on the   
island to start with. Come to think of it, he didn't remember  
much of anything that had happened in the last fifteen years  
or so.  
------------------------------------------  
  
Thousands of miles away, across the Atlantic Ocean, on  
a hill overlooking miles and miles of empty fields, stood  
a castle. In the highest window of the highest turret of  
the castle, a light shined through. In the room from  
which the light came, a woman sat behind a large mahogany  
desk. She looked up as the man walked into the room.  
  
"I have them, Miss."  
  
She held out her hand. "Let me see them." She took  
the two leather bound books from her assistant. Opening  
them, she compared the handwriting. She could see no  
difference in the two, and she was trained to see any such  
differences. Keeping one of the books, she handed the  
original back to her assistant.  
  
"Here. Put this in the fire."  
  
"I beg your pardon, Miss?"  
  
"You heard me. Put it in the fire. Make sure it  
burns. I don't want anyone else getting their hands on  
it. That damned pregnancy has cost us enough. I don't  
plan on losing anymore because of it."  
  
The assistant did as he was told. He placed the book  
in the middle of the fire, using the poker to ensure that  
every page burned. When there was no evidence of the  
journal, the woman dismissed the assistant.  
  
Turning back to her desk, she opened the magnificent  
copy of Merrick's journal. She put the other book back  
in her desk drawer, locking the drawer with the only key  
there was. As she stood up, ready to go home, she   
smiled. Yes, Amberly Hampton was extremely pleased  
with herself.  
  
  
  
END (?) 


End file.
